All That I Need To Be
by TealJay
Summary: Sequel to All That I Have Left. Malik has always been a fighter. He has been fighting since he was five years old, after the murder of his mother. Conflicts between rebel groups have alerted generals from the palace to their location. Now, a real war will begin as demons and humans clash on the battlefield. MalikxMarikxMariku
1. Ambush

**Here is the first chapter of All That I Need to Be. I am very excited about writing this story. The decision is also in about Jaden and Yusei. There will be a one shot some time during this story. It will be separate however. Hope you enjoy the first chapter!**

 **Please review! All criticism is greatly appreciated. It allows me to learn from my mistakes and make a better story.**

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.

 **Summary** : Sequel to All That I Have Left. Malik has always been a fighter. He has been fighting since he was five years old, after the murder of his mother. Conflicts between rebel groups have alerted generals from the palace to their location. Now, a real war will begin as demons and humans clash on the battle field. MalikxMarikxMariku

 **This Chapter will begin after the last chapter in All That I Have Left.**

 _Rules of the Bonded (For those who did not read previous story)_

 _Pure human souls have the ability to stabilize demon souls_

 _If the human is killed, the demons live and retain their powers_

 _If the human is too far, the bond will kill them._

 _If the human was a true bond, they will reincarnate_

 **Chapter 1- Ambush**

The meetings always ended in the same way. With me being assigned to another mission to go and kill more demons. Maybe even some of the Western rebels. I don't mind the killing. I need to protect the people that I care about. I was used to killing. It wasn't that, that was bothering me. I have been feeling restless lately, as if something was about to happen. It made me anxious, and only time in the oasis seemed to ease me. The caves were quiet at the moment. Everyone must be busy getting ready for the raid, so they were either in their rooms or in the training center. My Father, Shada, had alerted us to a group of demons traveling a crossed the desert toward a settlement under our protection. There wasn't any more information pertaining to them, such as where they were from. The village was close to our location and it housed families for some members in the caves. We had already evacuated the village, but we needed to keep the pretense that it was occupied so that the demons would not continue looking for our people.

The living quarters were in the eastern part of the caves. The training center and dining halls were in the west. The center held the meeting room. The living quarters reminded me of an anthill with many rooms that all worked their way to the top of the cave. I lived on the ground floor. At the top of the cave was a red flag that was the color of the Desert rebels. Mirrors brought light into the cave. I opened the door to my room at the end of the cavern. My sister lived next to me along with my father on the other side. My room was very plain. I never found a reason to decorate it. It was just a room. On the walls were weapons that I used to practice or to fight. My bed was in the corner with white blankets and a basin on a counter next to it for washing.

I took my knives off my waist and went to the counter for my riding bad that had been leaning against it. It was already filled with everything I would need. Some extra knives, a sharpening kit, a medical kit, extra food, my mask, and a pendant that had been my mothers. I pulled out the necklace. It had a simple leather chain and a silver clasp. On the chain were small silver and gold beads with on small dark blue gem. My father had given it to her when they were married. I had taken it off of her when I found her after she had been murdered. It was the only thing that hadn't been covered in blood. To this day, my father thought the demon that had killed her had taken the necklace and I never bothered to tell him the truth.

I placed the necklace back in the bag. I leaned down to pick up my fighting clothes that had been next to the bag. Light brown pants, a black top without sleeves, and a pair of black boots. I took off my home clothes and changed into the fighting clothes. Once I was dressed, I walked to the weapon wall and replace my knife belt. I was most skilled with my curved knifes. I also picked up two smaller knives that could be place in my boots for emergencies. I picked my bow off the wall along with the quiver and tied them to my back. There was a knock at the door before I had finished arming myself.

"Come in."

The door opened and my sister, Ishizu, walked in. Ishizu was two years older than me. She was also dressed similar to me, except around her waist was a single khopesh and she had a crossbow on her back. He long black hair was tied back over her shoulder in a braid and her brown eyes were bright. She was also tan like me.

"I see you are almost ready. You and I will be fighting together. Father wants us to enter the city first so that we will be able to ambush the demons as they enter. And we will be able to alert the rest of the force to a complication if one occurs."

I nodded.

"Are you scared?"

I scoffed. "No!"

She laughed. "Of course not, not my brave brother." She walked to me and ruffled my hair.

"Hey, I'm an adult you know."

"Yes, I know. Are you ready to walk to the stables?"

I had finished packing, so I nodded and we walked out of the room.

"Do you want to race?" She asked when we were almost to the meeting room.

"And have you beat me again? You just want a chance to gloat."

"You're right, I do. But it would still be fun."

She took off without warning and I ran after. She was incredible fast. By the time I made it to the stables, she had beat me by a landslide. Both her and Jou, we standing by the entrance laughing. Jou saw me first.

"Here comes the great warrior now. Where have you been, we've been watin forever for yah."

"Have not." I said panting.

"You're right little brother, it was only two minutes. Faster than last time." She was laughing.

I was about to retort when my father's voice rang out.

"It is time to ride out. Find your mount and form your groups. I will remain here to monitor your progress."

Jou sighed. "Time for business. I guess I'll see you both later. Have fun!" He walked to his tan horse.

Ishizu and I both walked to ours that were ready and tied to a post. My horse was gray and Ishizu's was white. I tied my bag onto my horse. I climbed on my horse Alec and moved him to the entrance waiting for Shada's command to leave. My sister stopped next to me. We only had to wait a few minutes and I looked around the cave. There were fifty soldiers. Most of us were human, but there were a few demons that fought with us.

"Ride out and stay with your group." My father yelled out and the door opened. I clicked Alec's reigns and he began to gallop. The sky was dark now with only a small amount of light still on the horizon, which meant it was the perfect time for an ambush.

 **Marik POV**

I could see the town on the horizon. It has been three hours since sunset. We would be in the town very soon. The soldier we brought were tense and excited. I mirrored their excitement. I have been anxious to make it to the settlement. I was ready to find and kill some rebels, anything to ease the tense feeling surrounding us. I had also been feeling anxious lately. The closer we can to the village, the more anxious I became. I could tell Mariku was feeling the same way, he way leaning forward on the horse. We haven't seen any rebels yet, which was odd. I had expected to be stopped before we made it to the town.

"Stop." Mariku told us.

His eyes were trained to the right of us. I looked to where he was fixated on and saw another group moving to the town. They had green flags with them. We had no knowledge of this group. We know that the rebel groups were color coated, but the most active group was the red group. That is why we came to this town.

"Another rebel group?" I asked.

"Yeah. There has been in fighting among them lately. I guess we weren't the only ones planning to raid the town tonight."

"What should we do? We could beat them there."

Marik stared at them a little longer.

"We will head to the town but we will wait to attack until they get there as well, then we can get intel on both groups."

I nodded and we change our course to go the back of the city. We found a high vantage point that we would be able to watch the green group of rebels move to the town. The town was small, around 50 to 60 houses and a market. We waited a short while before they were almost at the gate when we saw movement just inside the gate. I saw two human hide behind a house. Both of them had red masks around their faces. I looked at the boy, he was familiar. He had long sand colored hair and slightly tan skin. My heart began to pound when he turned to look behind him, giving me a look at his face. I heard Mariku gasp next to me. A shock ran through me. It was Malik and he was armed to the teeth ready to fight the rebels entering the town. Fear raced through me when I noticed that they would be surrounded. Mariku and I raced down the hill.

 **Malik POV**

We didn't see them coming. Keith and his warriors from the Western group managed to surround us. One of his men raced toward me and I pulled out my knives. I slashed his chest and the shoved the other knife into his chest. I turned and immediately blocked the sword of the man behind me. He fell quickly too. I looked at Ishizu. She was fighting two at once, but they were no match for her. I killed two more men before I looked around. Where was the demon army? Then I saw them. They had gone around the left side of the settlement and were approaching us quickly.

We were going to be outnumbered.

"We need to leave now." I yelled at my sister.

I pulled out my fire starter and lit the signal fire to shoot a flaming arrow into the air to alert the other group to leave.

She looked at the oncoming army and killed the last of the Westerns fighting us. She nodded and we raced to where we left our horses in the market. The demons followed us, I couldn't see their faces in the dark. Keith was nowhere to be seen. He must have hidden when he seen the demons, coward.

I jumped on Alec and Ishizu got on her horse, and we raced off.

"Well, this wasn't the plan."

"There never really was a plan." I argued. The demons were still following. "We can't lead them back to the caves."

"We will go around to the back."

I looked behind me again. They were closer. I pulled my bow off my back and nocked an arrow. I aimed at one of the demons in the front. The moon came out from behind the cloud giving me enough light to see their faces. One of them was older, dark red eyes and tan colored hair. He was muscular and tan. The other one was also muscular and had red eyes. He was covered in scars. The strangest part? They looked like me. I pulled back the arrow some more and aimed at the younger one. I was about to let the arrow loose when I felt a pang run through me when I looked him in the eye.

I knew them, I thought shocked. But that couldn't be true.

I let the bow fall slack.

"Malik!" I heard my sister yell.

I turned around to see another one of Keith's men on a horse coming toward me. I aimed the arrow at him and I loosed the arrow. It hit him in the neck and he fell to the ground. We were almost out of the town.

"Malik, shoot the arch." There was an arch over the gateway to the town. We raced out of it and I turned to shoot it. The specialty arrow hit the arch and it collapsed, stopping the demons from following us.

"Malik!" I heard the older demon yell in a rough voice.

We didn't stop. Ishizu looked at me.

"You know them?"

I was still looking at the arch where the demons had stopped.

"I don't know." And we went back to the caves.

 **Marik POV**

He was right there; I could still see him riding away through the desert.

"We have to follow." I told Mariku.

"We can't yet. We know who he is with now. We can find him again." Mariku said also staring at Malik's fleeting form.

One of our soldiers walked up behind us.

"My lords, we have captured the leader of the green group. He has refused to talk. We have also searched the town, there is no one here."

"We will make him talk," I sneered.

Mariku nodded and chuckled darkly.

We walked back to the market after a soldier took our horses. In the center of the market was a human with blond hair and a green bandana.

"Who are you?" Mariku asked harshly.

The human just smiled. So did we.

His legs lit on fire and he screamed.

"I'm Keith. A soldier of the Western rebels."

"So there are two groups?" I asked and we stopped burning his legs.

"Yes. Those two in the red masks are part of the Desert rebels. They are the children of their leader."

"Do you know where they are going?" Mariku asked.

"No, we haven't found their camp. We hoped to capture some of them tonight to find out." We both growled at him. He had more information. "We know it is near the oasis." He continued quickly.

"The oasis by the mountains?" I said.

Keith nodded. Two soldiers removed him from the area.

We turned to each other then looked at our soldiers. We pointed at two of them.

"You two will follow the human back to his camp and then kill him once you have the location. We will go an investigate this other group. The rest of you go back to the palace and alert the other generals and the King and Queen to the information we have found. Now move out."

The soldiers left quickly. We walked back to our horses.

"It's a day's ride to that oasis. What will we do when we get there?" I asked.

"We search for Malik. And take him back, no matter what."

 **The next update will be on December 24** **th** **(Early Christmas Present for all of you)**


	2. Failure

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.

 **Summary** : Sequel to All That I Have Left. Malik has always been a fighter. He has been fighting since he was five years old, after the murder of his mother. Conflicts between rebel groups have alerted the fire generals to their location. Now, a real war will begin as demons and humans clash on the battle field. MalikxMarikxMariku

 **Thank you:**

 **PhantomBrat** for following. Nice to see you again.

 **Pyrobookwyrm** for favoriting. Hello there!

 **DDLDarkHeartofWater** for following and favoriting and the review. Nice to see you again. Your wish has been granted. He's my favorite too! That's part of the reason I'm excited to write this story.

 **GirlFish** for the review. Good to see you back. I needed a few minor bad guys, thanks for your suggestions. I didn't know who to use and I think these guys will work.

 **Sapphire Blue 99** for following and favoriting. Nice to see you back as well.

 **Thank you all for your support. I always get nervous when starting a new story, but you all helped make it easier. As always if you have any suggestions, feel free to tall me and I will do my best to add it to the story. I want this to be something you like to read. Thanks again and hope you like the chapter. It will get more exciting in the next one. I have to work up to the fun stuff.**

 **Chapter 2- Failure**

 **Malik POV**

We made it back to the caves just as the sun was rising. We rode around to the back entrance near the oasis and took our horses back to the stables. Jou was waiting for us there, looking grim.

"Your father wants to see both of you in the meeting room. He wants to talk about your part of the mission."

"Did everyone make it back okay?" Ishizu asked worriedly.

"Yeah. We left the instant we saw the signal. We saw both groups converge on you guys. No one followed us back. We got back an hour ago."

I nodded and we walked to the meeting room. Jou left us when we got there and went back to his room. We went straight into the meeting room to see our father. He was sitting at the desk with his head in his hands. He was angry.

"Father." Both of us said.

"I would like to hear how this mission became a failure."

Ishizu spoke first. "Keith ambushed us first which then alerted the demon army to our location. We would have been outnumbered even if we called the rest of the troop. We couldn't risk their lives."

"But that was not your call. I am not angry with you my daughter. You were following your brothers lead. I am highly disappointed in you my son. You let them have the city and allowed the Westerns to see that we are weak. Think about what they will do next!" Shada sighed.

I felt guilt flood me. "I'm sorry Father, I should have been stronger. I'm sorry I failed you. I will try harder next time."

My father nodded.

"Unfortunately for you, that opportunity to prove yourself to me will not be soon. You are grounded from missions for two weeks. We will be raiding the settlement to run the demons out tomorrow. Do you remember anything about them?"

I was too shocked about my grounding to respond, luckily Ishizu responded quickly.

"I believe that two of them were generals. The ones with the tan hair. I have seen them before when I was scouting the villages around the palace. The seemed to know Malik. They said his name."

"They knew him?" My father asked shocked, looking at me.

I nodded.

"How could they have known him?" Ishizu asked.

"You said they have tan hair right?"

"Yes they looked like Malik but older."

My father looked concerned now. "A better reason for you to be suspended from missions now Malik. You need to stay away from them."

"Why? I can handle two demons."

"Not these. You will stay here until they are gone."

"But that doesn't make any sense. I've fought hundreds of demons by now. I can kill them."

My father stayed quiet for a minute.

"Malik, I am not doubting your ability. You are both dismissed return to your rooms. I do not want to hear any more of this. We will be leaving at 9 tomorrow Ishizu. I expect you to be there."

"But Father, I deserve to know who they really are."

"Leave Malik!" He yelled and my sister grabbed my arm to pull me out. She shut the door behind us. I turned and punched the wall, cutting my knuckles open in the process.

"Dammit." I cursed.

"It's okay Malik. Let's go wash and eat. If they were a serious threat, Father would tell us."

I walked with her back to the resident area. I walked into my room to remove my weapons and to find clean day clothes to change into waiting for me on the bed. I picked them up and walked to the bathing room. There were two rivers that ran through the caves from the peaks of the mountains. One of the rivers was for clothe washing and irrigation. The other, for bathing. There were many alcoves that had ponds that flowed off the river for privacy. The water was always freezing but it was better than being dirty. I went into an alcove and removed my clothes. There were a few other people in there but I had stopped being modest long ago. I jumped in the water and began scrubbing my arms. I ducked my head underwater and washed it out with my fingers. My hair was almost to the small of my back now. I won't cut it though, my mother liked my hair to be long. She used to run her hands through it when she told me stories. I got out of the water when I was done and picked up one of the towels that were on the side waiting for use. I quickly dried off. I put on my clothes and went back to the living area where my sister was waiting.

"You always take too long in the bath." Her hair was wet and she was in clean clothes. She must have bathed in a separate area.

"Some of us like to enjoy being clean." I retorted.

She waved her hand. "Whatever let's go and eat."

I smiled and placed my clothes back in my room and then followed her to the dining hall. Some of the fighters were thieves and farmers so we had plenty of food in the caves. The dining hall was simple, few tables and chairs. Many people ate in their room, and since it was early morning there was only a few people there. Just Jou and Seth, one of the demons who fought with us, and another demon whose name I didn't know. That demon only showed up occasionally. He was our source of information in the palace. He had black hair with gold streaks and a yellow tattoo under his left eye.

Jou waved when we entered.

We both picked up some food and sat down to eat with them.

"So your off missions for a while?" Jou asked.

"Yeah." I said taking a bite of my soup.

"At least you can relax for a while now. Go spend some time in the oasis. That helps you." Seth said.

I nodded. I stopped listening to the conversation when Jou and Ishizu began to bicker. Eventually Jou left with Ishizu to try and prove her wrong about some in the training room, leaving me alone with Seth and the unknown demon. I thought about the demons I saw today. Seth might know something.

"Seth, I have a question."

"Ask away."

I swallowed nervously.

"I met two demons last night. They looked like me and seemed to know who I was, but I've never met them. I was going to shoot one of them but I couldn't. I've never stop myself from killing a demon or an enemy before."

Seth clasped his hands in front of him. The other demon stared at me intently.

"My father won't tell me anything but he seems to know something about them." I continued.

"Did you feel as if you knew them?"

"Yeah."

Seth stayed silent but the other demon spoke.

"Maybe you do know them, but you have forgotten." His voice held no emotion.

I narrowed my eyes in confusion. "What?"

He didn't speak again. But Seth did.

"There are demons that use human to become stronger. They use human souls to stabilize their own souls. Many of the humans die however."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Seth looked me dead in the eye.

"Maybe you were one of those humans."

I stood up knocking over my plate in the process.

"That's not possible. I've dedicated my life to killing them and the demons that caused my mother to die. I can't have been something that they used. I wouldn't have allowed that to happen to myself. I'm a fighter."

I went to leave when I heard the unknown demon speak again.

"You are in this life, but you might have been different before."

I ran back to my room.

 **Mariku POV**

We have been looking for the oasis for hours when we finally came a crossed it. We tied our horses to a tree and set up camp near the pond. It was around noon. I lit a fire near the bank and waited for Marik to return with the fish he was trying to catch in the pond. Tomorrow we would begin our search for the rebel encampment.

I looked at the sky. We were so close. He was nearby, I could feel it. And I know that Marik could too. He was tense, but he was smiling and talking to himself again. I haven't seen him smile in a long time. The first few months after he died, Marik would talk to himself constantly. When that had ended, he stayed silent for years. He would wander to the dungeon at night and rip apart prisoners bit by bit. I wasn't much better. I have always enjoyed torture but I was never illogical about it before he died. After he died, I tortured just to hear screams instead of to find out information. I still enjoyed the pain I caused, but I was methodical. Seeing him, had calmed me. I looked back at Marik, it had calmed him as well. Our souls weren't stable yet, we needed to erform the ritual again before they stabilized. It still wasn't safe for him to return to the palace but now that we had found him, we couldn't leave him here. We would take him back, whether or not we had to use force to get him there. I guess I was still being a little illogical.

 **Malik POV**

I laid on my bed in my dark room. It wasn't true. I was my own person. I've dedicated my whole life to revenge. There was no way I was some kind of toy in a past life. It wasn't possible. I could feel my heart still pounding in my chest and it wasn't just from sprinting all the way from the dining hall. I was afraid. My father was right, whoever those demons are, I need to stay away from them. I would visit the oasis in the morning, that will help me. Thinking of the cool water and the warm sun helped lull me into sleep. Hopefully, it would be one without nightmares.

 **The next update will be on January 3** **rd** **(I'm on vacation with family so I won't be posting next week)**

 **I Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a great New Year!**

 **Please review! All criticism is greatly appreciated. It allows me to learn from my mistakes and make a better story.**


	3. Oasis

**I decided to post a chapter today. Surprise! This will be the last one until after New Year's. Hope you enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.

 **Summary** : Sequel to All That I Have Left. Malik has always been a fighter. He has been fighting since he was five years old, after the murder of his mother. Conflicts between rebel groups have alerted the fire generals to their location. Now, a real war will begin as demons and humans clash on the battle field. MalikxMarikxMariku

 **Thank you:**

 **DDLDarkHeartofWater** for the review and continued support. I have just finished writing his and Yugi's reunion. It's still a few chapters ahead.

 **GirlFish** for the review and continued support. I have a special plan for Yusei. Thank you for your suggestions! I'm working on a plot right now, but it gave me a lot of ideas to work off of.

 **Midknight Bakura** for following and favoriting.

 _Dreaming/Flashbacks_

 **Chapter 3- Oasis**

 **Malik POV**

 _I was walking through the trees to the pond. I couldn't find my mother. She ran out of the caves after father and her yelled at each other again. I would find her though. I didn't want Mom to be sad. She looks her best when she was happy._

" _Mom!" I called out._

 _There was no response._

 _I continued walking, she would be by the pond, and when I found her she would smile. She would pull me into her lap and stroke my hair. Then I would hear a story._

" _Mom! I'm coming." I ran the rest of the way to the pond. She was just hiding again so that she would jump out and make me laugh. I giggled, I would find her first._

 _I burst through the bushes to the pond. I saw her lying on her side with her back to me._

" _Mom? Are you sleeping?"_

 _I went closer._

 _I saw a puddle of red water under her and on her clothes. I touched her shoulder._

" _Mom, wake up."_

 _I walked around to look at her face. He eyes were open and blank. There was more red water on her face._

" _Mommy, Mom! Wake up!"_

 _I shook her shoulder. She would wake up soon. She was just playing._

" _Well so you are her son." I heard a heavily accented voice say. I looked up and saw a man with long pink hair. He was wearing a gray outfit that looked fancy._

 _I heard yelling coming our direction. I recognized my father's voice._

" _I've been looking for you. I'll be back one day."_

I shot up in my bed. I rubbed my face. It had been 14 years since that day, and I'm still having dreams. I wasn't going to be able to sleep now. I got out of bed and changed clothes. I picked up the belt with my knives and placed them back around my waist. I pulled on my boots, the knives for emergencies were still in them. I was just about to leave when I looked back at the riding bag. My father was gone; I could wear the necklace in public. There were many nights where I would wear it when I was in my room. I put the necklace on, it was cold on my collar bone. I felt as if it was important that I wear the necklace today. I walked to the dining hall for breakfast. They had fruit this morning. I turned to one of the soldiers working the dining hall.

"What time is it?"

"9:10 in the morning sir."

It was later than I thought. I spent most of the night thinking about what I had been told by Seth, so I must have slept in.

"Has the convoy already left then?"

"Yes, sir."

My sister was gone then. I could go out the oasis this morning now too. I finished my food quickly and left to the exit of the cave. As I neared the end of the tunnel, I could see the sunlight and feel the warmth emanating from it. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It smelled fresh and it calmed my nerves. I could spend all day outside today. I wouldn't have to return to the caves until the night. Once out of the tunnel, I walked to my favorite tree. Before I got there I saw smoke rising from the where the pond was. I sunk into a defenses stance and crept forward. I pulled both of my knives out of their holster at my hip.

He's back, I thought, he came to find me.

He wouldn't get me though. I would kill him this time. I would be strong enough. I snuck closer and I saw two demons. I was shocked it was them. The blond demons from the other day. They were so close to the mountains. I should go back inside to warn the others. I should stay away from them. But how did they know about the oasis. Maybe they knew the man with pink hair and he told them to come here to collect me. Ishizu might have been wrong about them being generals. Either way I had to kill them before they found the others. The older one was closer I could kill him before the other even noticed. I pulled the knife in my right hand to a position where I could throw it. I took a deep breath, I had to do this. I needed to do this. The older one tensed and turned around. He looked right at me.

I threw the knife.

He caught it but I had readied the other to throw. I was stopped when arms locked around me.

"Stop fighting Malik-pretty. It's alright."

"Let me go! Help!" I screamed and a hand covered my mouth. I struggled against the demon. I threw my head back to try and hit him.

The demon began dragging me over to where they made camp. He was strong. It was like I was being held by stone.

"He's feistier than I remember."

"Here these should work for now." The older one walked over with long pieces of cloth. I struggled harder. He grabbed my wrists and held them close as he tied them tightly behind my back. I began to panic.

"Are they too tight Malik?"

The younger demon removed his hand from my mouth.

"What does it matter!? You work for him don't you. He told the truth. He came back for me."

They looked confused.

"We weren't sent by anyone. Was there someone looking for you?"

I shut my mouth I wasn't going to answer that. I don't make it a habit of giving information to kidnappers. The continued to stare at me intently until the older one broke eye contact first. He took another piece of cloth and tied my ankles together. I was immobilized now. The younger one sat me by a tree and they both began to clean their camp. The younger one was talking to himself happily.

"What are you going to do with me? How do you know me?"

The older stopped packing.

"We are going to return to the palace and you are coming with us. You can't stay here with these rebels. And we know you because you are ours, Malik."

Fear flooded my system, along with anger.

"I'm nobodies. I am one of those rebels. My family is part of the rebels. I won't tell you anything about the rebels. I have family that will find me and the first chance I get I will kill you." I spat.

The both stopped packing.

"You could have killed me, but you hesitated. I heard your breathing stutter. You don't remember us, but you know who we are." The older one stated.

That demon's words came back to me.

" _Maybe you do know them, but you have forgotten."_

"That's not possible. Just let me go, please."

The younger walked back to me. He petted my hair. I pulled my head away with a growl.

"We can't let you go. We will never let you go again."

I began to shake. I should have just left. Now I was going to be taken to the demon palace. I put everyone at risk. Tears filled my eyes.

"It will be alright. And once we make it back to the palace it will be perfect again. As for your family, they will stay alive as long as you behave. We will leave this place in peace." The younger said still trying to pet my hair.

They finished packing and placed everything back on their horses. The younger one got on his horse and the older came back for me.

"Time to go." He picked me up and I struggled again. I wasn't going to make this easy on them.

"Behave, Malik." He tightened his arms. "Do you want us to go back to find your family?"

I stopped struggling and he passed me to the demon on the horse. The younger demon kept me cradled in front of him and nuzzled my neck.

"I missed you Malik."

The older got on his horse and we rode out of the oasis. My knives were left on the ground. Hopefully they were found and someone would know what happen to me. I would stay vigilant, the first chance I got, I would kill them. I still had the knives in my boots.

 **Mariku and Marik still are out of their minds a little. They won't be stable until the ritual fixes their souls. That is why they seemed a little violent still.**

 **The next update will be on January 8** **rd** **(back to a regular schedule)**

 **Please review! All criticism is greatly appreciated. It allows me to learn from my mistakes and make a better story.**


	4. Journey

**Since they are together now, I will be focusing on only Malik's POV for now. Please review! All criticism is greatly appreciated. It allows me to learn from my mistakes and make a better story.**

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.

 **Summary** : Sequel to All That I Have Left. Malik has always been a fighter. He has been fighting since he was five years old, after the murder of his mother. Conflicts between rebel groups have alerted the fire generals to their location. Now, a real war will begin as demons and humans clash on the battle field. MalikxMarikxMariku

 **Thank you:**

 **Socicgen52** for following and favoriting me

 **GirlFish** for the review and continued support. Vivian and Rebecca will be play only minor roles in this story but will have a much larger role in the next.

 **DDLDarkHeartofWater** for the review and continued support. I'm happy you are enjoying the story so far.

 **Chapter 4- Journey**

 **Malik POV**

We stopped for a break when the sun was directly overhead. The older demon pulled me off of the horse again, then the younger got down. They tied the horses to a couple of dead trees. I was placed so I was leaning against the dead tree. We were in the middle of the desert now. In every direction vast hills of sand could be seen. The mountains where I lived had disappeared long ago. The younger demon grabbed something from a saddle bag. He walked back over to me with a water skin.

"You need to drink, Malik-pretty."

I closed my mouth tightly. If they wanted me to drink, they would have to force me to drink.

"Now Malik be good." The older said. He squatted down next to me.

I didn't open my mouth.

"You're going to have to open his mouth, Mariku."

He nodded and the demon, Mariku, forced a finger in my mouth to begin to pry it open. When it was open enough, the younger demon placed the water skin in my mouth. I didn't swallow. The water skin and the fingers holding my mouth were removed. I immediately tried to spit out the water, but Mariku covered my mouth.

"Swallow."

I just glared. I would not eat or drink anything these demons would give me.

"Cover his nose, Marik."

The other demon, who I knew now was called Marik, reached up to pinch my nose. I took a deep breath before he did it so that I could hold my breath longer. Soon it became uncomfortable however.

"Just swallow Malik, don't make this hard on yourself. You need to drink." Marik told me.

It was beginning to be painful. My vision was blurring. I had to swallow. As soon as I did, the hands were removed and I began to cough harshly.

Marik was rubbing my back.

"Just drink next time okay. We don't want to do that every time but we will if we have to. We want you to be healthy."

Marik continued to rub my back as I tried to breathe normally. My vision was clearing slowly. Mariku stood up and looked into the distance.

"I can hear horses in the distance. We need to continue moving."

Horses, I thought, they could be coming for me.

I screamed. "I'm here!"

Marik covered my mouth.

"Don't scream."

I glared at him. He must have known that the instant he was going to remove his hand; I was going to scream again.

Marik looked up at Mariku.

"We can't gag him. I can't see that again."

He nodded. I narrowed my eyes, they never gaged me.

"We can put him to sleep though." Mariku told him.

Marik nodded, and Mariku squatted down. Mariku looked me in the eye and his eyes glowed red.

"Sleep Malik."

I fought against it. I had to make sure the riders coming our way, knew where I was. But it was like I was tied to bricks and being tugged under water.

The next time I opened my eyes, I could see the stars. I could also hear the demons talking. I was lying on a blanket on top of the sand. There was another blanket on top of me. My wrists were bound in front of me. We looked to be on top of some cliffs now. There was water nearby, I could hear it down the cliff. There was also a forest past that. I look at the demons. Both of them were sitting by the fire, cooking something that they caught, and talking about the travel time left. They weren't focused on me. I pulled my feet to the side to see if I could reach my knives. I just needed one. I could cut my ankles loose, I could run to the rocks on the small cliff behind me and then to the trees beyond. Then I could hide until morning or until the riders from earlier found me.

I managed to reach the handle of one of the knives and pulled it free of my boot. I reached it down to the cloth holding my ankles. I cut through it easily. They were both still focused by the fire. I silently slunk out of the blankets and walked quietly away. I wanted to get behind on of the trees on the cliff before I started running. But I didn't get that far. Marik turned around to check on where I had once been.

"Mal- Mariku, he's gone."

I jumped behind the tree. I began to twist my hands and I got the cloth loose enough to free my hands. I pulled out the second small knife.

"Malik, where are you?" Mariku growled.

I steady my breathing and stayed quiet.

I didn't hear the steps coming my way, but I did feel it when a hand grabbed my arm. I reacted on impulse and twisted my arm out of his gripped then kicked him in the chest. I sprinted toward the rocks. I was just about to jump over one of the large jagged rocks, when I felt a hand close over my left ankle and I was pulled downward hard. The peak of the rock slammed into my side and I felt something crack. My head hit the rock next to the larger one. My vision darkened and then blurred.

"No!" I heard a scream.

I felt myself being picked up. Mariku held me close and ran me back to the blanket that I had been laying on.

"No, no, no, Malik. His head is bleeding." Marik was shaking, "I didn't mean to hurt you. Sorry, Malik-pretty. Sorry."

Mariku was checking my head.

"The cut is longer than it is deep, but there could be a concussion. It is already bruising. Get a cloth and hold it tightly to the cut. I need to check his side."

Marik ran off and grabbed the cloth. He returned and sat by my head, placing the cloth on the cut, and holding it there tightly.

"What if his ribs are broken? His ribs could be broken. It could happen again, and it's all my fault."

Mariku was raising my shirt. I twisted away only to hiss in pain.

"Stay still," Mariku commanded.

He pulled up my shirt to my neck. My right side was already black just above my belly button. Marik was whispering 'no' over and over again. He looked panicked. I didn't understand. I had broken ribs before. I hadn't punctured my lungs and I wasn't going to die from this, but they were looking at me like I was going to die.

Mariku's fingers ghosted over the bruise. He pressed down lightly and I hissed. The pain was sharp.

Marik petted my hair. I didn't have enough strength to pull away from his touch.

"Two are broken. I think another is cracked."

"But he's okay right. They won't kill him, but we need to bind them tightly. I'll grab some bandages. Keep him still."

"Not going to move." I spoke in pants. It was hard to breath.

"Don't talk too."

"I know… how not to… puncture a lung. Talking won't puncture it." I rasped.

"Stop, Malik." Marik said.

"Don't worry… then" I continued.

They were both silent. Mariku came back over with the bandages. He had two splints of wood as well.

"We need to worry about you. We can't lose you again."

"You never… lost me before."

Mariku's face softened.

"You can be stubborn for now. Let's get your chest wrapped. Marik, lift him up and lean him against you. Keep a hand on his head to keep pressure on the cloth."

Marik did as he said, but even though he was careful, it still hurt to be lifted upright. Mariku placed a large gauze pad over the bruise and then began wrapping my chest. Once he had a good covering over the ribs, I expected him to stop. He did stop but then he picked up the wood splints a placed one on my back and one on my chest. He then continued to wrap until it was covered. By the time he was done, I wouldn't be able to sit up without help, the bindings were so tight, but the wood splints would keep my torso straight.

"Don't you think that's a bit over kill." I told him, yawning. I was starting to get tired.

"Shhh." Marik said into my hair.

"Now his head."

Marik pulled off cloth over the cut on my head.

"It's stopped bleeding but we need to disinfect the wound."

"I have some herbs that will help."

He spread some green paste on a gauze pad and placed it on my cut. It burned.

Marik held the pad in place while Mariku wrapped the cut. When he was finished, my eyes were fluttering. I yawned again.

"Do we need to tie him up again?"

"He's not going to run now. Too tried and he can't move."

"What about food?" Marik asked.

"Oh right. Malik you need to eat something. You can't fight us okay."

"Not gonna fight."

Marik laughed.

"He's cute when he's tired. Here's some of the rabbit."

Marik handed Mariku the pan and lifted my head into his lap. Mariku picked up a piece of the meat.

"Open up Malik."

I opened my mouth obediently. He placed the meat and my mouth and I chewed. This continued for the next few minutes until it was all gone. Mariku lifted the water skin to my mouth. I drank a few gulps of water. When Mariku was done feeding me, Marik laid me down flat and Mariku pulled the blanket back over to me. I yawned again and close my eyes.

"How long do you think he will stay like this?"

"He will be acting normal in the morning."

"Aww. I want him to always be like this."

 **The next update will be on January 15** **th**


	5. The Return

**Please review! All criticism is greatly appreciated. It allows me to learn from my mistakes and make a better story.**

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.

 **Summary** : Sequel to All That I Have Left. Malik has always been a fighter. He has been fighting since he was five years old, after the murder of his mother. Conflicts between rebel groups have alerted the fire generals to their location. Now, a real war will begin as demons and humans clash on the battle field. MalikxMarikxMariku

 **Thank you:**

 **Slinking Fox** for Favoriting, following and for review and continued support. Hey! Would you like me to call you DDLDarkHeart ofWater or Slinking Fox?

 **Sonicgen52** for following and favoriting, and for the review. That I can do

 **GirlFish** for the review and continued support. I had to make them a little mean. They are still alittle crazy. Mana may or may not have resurrected him already, he might be making an appearance toward the end of the story, but I don't know ;)

 **AngelsOfHell'sAbyss** for following All That I Have Left.

 **Chapter 5- The Return**

 **Malik POV**

When I awoke in the morning, I was already on a horse. Mariku was holding me tight to his chest. My ribs cause me to flinch every time the horse jumped or moved faster. I was breathing well either. My hands were bound again and I had a pounding headache. That wasn't bothering me as much as it bothered me to have Mariku's mouth close to my throat. I threw my head back and hit him in the face.

"Ah! Malik's awake." His arm tightened like a vice around me. Luckily, he didn't squeeze too hard as to not disturb my ribs.

"Let go of me." I said as I struggled against him. The pain from my ribs were growing but I disregarded it.

"I'm glad we thought to bind his hands." Marik said as he brought his horse closer.

"Me too. Stop struggling, Malik. You'll hurt yourself."

I wasn't listening.

"Take my reins Marik. I'll hold him still."

Once Marik had the reins, Mariku put both arms around me and tightened them until I couldn't move at all. One of his arms held my arms down by my stomach, the other was around my shoulders holding my too him. Marik began moving our horse forward with his.

"We should be at the palace soon. Probably within the hour."

"I'm not going to the palace. I want to go home."

"You're coming with us. You'll be safer with us."

I looked at my boots and remembered that I left the knives on the rocks.

"We checked you for weapons while you were sleeping. You are completely weapon free now. So behave and sit still."

So I've failed again. I couldn't get away now. My only hope now was that someone was following our trail. My father would be so disappointed. I hadn't listened to him when he told me to stay away from these demons. My sister, she always acted recklessly when it came to my safety when I was younger. I prayed she wouldn't act reckless now. I couldn't live knowing my own reckless behavior would hurt her too. This could have repercussions on Jou and the others as well. Why did I have to know who they were? I could have just walked back into the caves. Why didn't I? I was so angry with myself.

"Look Malik. That's the Palace."

I looked up at the horizon. There was a large town surrounding an even bigger structure that was so bright it was like it was made with gold. There was a large white stone wall in front of the town and then there was another before the palace. There were gardens everywhere in the city. That didn't give me a peace about going into the city.

"What do you think Malik?" They were both smiling at me like I was supposed to like it.

I snorted and glared. "Looks like a fancy prison."

Their smiles immediately dropped.

"It will feel like home soon. You'll see."

"It will never be my home. You took me away from there against my will. You took me away from my family. And I will always resent you for that reason."

They were silent. We were almost at the gates when they talked again.

"We are sorry Malik. But we couldn't leave you there. You have a friend here and one day, you may even be happy here."

I would be though, but I didn't voice that. I lost my oasis, one of my last connections to my mother. At least I was still wearing my necklace. I lost my sister, one of the few people I loved. I would never see my father again. Even though we had tough times, I still loved him. My friends Jou and Seth.

We made it to the gate. There were red stones and gold placed in the walls and in the door. It was incredibly ornate. Marik looked up at one of the guards above the door.

"Open the door."

"Right away, my Lords."

The guards quickly ran to open the door and the gate opened slowly opened. Marik walked the horses through the gate and it shut behind us. When I heard the bang, I let out a stifled sob.

"It's okay, Malik, it will be okay." Mariku said from behind me. Marik looked back sadly at us.

Marik pulled the horses into a gallop. I hung my head. I didn't want to be seen but as we went through town, I couldn't help but look. The houses were ornate. The demons walking around were all dressed colorfully. What shocked me was the humans. Some were collared, others had chains around their wrists and were being pulled forcefully behind demons. Some were being dragged by the demons in control of them. They were all skin and bones, forced to carry heavy objects. I even saw a small boy who had just been whipped due to the large amount of blood on his back and the lash marks, being punched over and over because he dropped a box that was too big for him on the ground. I wanted to run to help him. This was all the rebels were fighting against. I was also worried about how I was going to be treated. Marik and Mariku didn't seem dangerous to me, but I knew that they could be.

The journey to the second set of walls took a while. These walls had less gold and red stones. The doors still had gold inlaid in the wood. This door was opened automatically. There were many soldiers waiting on the other side of the door. They bowed when they saw us and we stopped in front of them. Marik slipped off of his horse. He walked over to us and Mariku passed me down to him. Marik held me tightly, but I wasn't going to fight now. There wasn't a point anymore. Mariku got down from his horse and two soldiers came forward to take the horses back to where they came from. Mariku turned to the nearest soldier.

"Tell the King and Queen that we will be free to meet with them in an hour. Also that they should bring their bonded human with them."

"Of course, my lord."

Marik picked me up in his arms and we walked into the palace. The halls were beautiful. The sand stone walls. White granite floors. There were torches along the walls, giving everything a warm glow. We made it to a large room with a spiral staircase that led up and down.

"We need to visit Isis first."

We walked up the stair case one level and walked to the right hallway. It led to a large open room filled with beds. There was a woman leaning over a patient already on the bed. My breath caught. She looked just like Ishizu. Almost an exact copy, but this woman looked older.

"That is Isis. She is a healer."

Marik walked over to one of the beds and laid me down. He kept a hand on my shoulder just in case I would try and sit up. The woman finished with her other patient and walked over to us.

She smiled kindly at me.

"It's been a while Malik. Have you seen Yugi yet?"

"What do you mean? I don't know you. I don't know who that is. I was taken away from my home by them. I just want to go home."

Isis turned to look at Marik and Mariku.

She shook her head, looking disappointed.

"There were probably better ways to get him to the palace. Control yourselves, you are not animals. Let's see about your wounds, Malik."

I sat obediently as she unwound my wounds.

It took her a while to undo the one's on my chest. She pursed her lips but didn't comment on their wrapping job. When they were undone, she held one hand over the bruises on my chest and one on the wound on my head. Her hands began to glow and I felt warmth spread through me. I watched in fascination as the bruises disappeared. I didn't feel any pain any more.

I looked up to see her smiling at me. I felt a pang of sadness run through me. She looks so like my sister.

I looked back down.

"Thank you." I mumbled.

She placed a hand on mine.

"Your very welcome." She turned to Marik and Mariku again. "If he has any residual pain in the morning, come and find me again."

The nodded and Marik picked me up. They waved at Isis and we walked back to the stair case. We went back down to the original floor and we turned left. The hallway we entered had large windows and the torches we unlit to allow for the most natural light. There was one room at the end of the hallway. The door was dark wood and a brass handle.

"This is our room." Marik told me.

He opened the door to a dark room. Mariku walked in an opened the curtains covering the windows. That allowed me to see the room. The was a desk covered in papers in the back of the room. The wardrobe was against the left wall with a white door next to it. There was a blue sofa in front of a fire place with a blue rug between them. The bed had navy curtains surrounding it which were attached to tall dark wood posts. The bed itself was also navy blue. There were two windows on either side of the bed with a window seat on each.

It was odd. I had a sense of familiarity about the room. It was almost calming. I have always felt confined when I was indoors but the room calmed me.

"We need to get cleaned up before we go to the meeting. The bathroom is through the white door. There is a shower you can use. We will find some clothes for you to change into."

I nodded and Marik put me on the ground. He removed the cloth that had been keeping my wrists tied. Marik walked to the door and opened it for me and I walked into the bathroom.

"We will wait outside. Knock on the door when you are done or if you need something."

It was bigger than my room in the cave. There was a basin in the floor that I assumed filled with water. The was also a part of the wall that had clear doors and a metal device at the top. Then there was a toilet **(He knows what a toilet is okay. Roll with it)** next to a smaller basin at waist level in its own alcove. I've never used a shower before but I assumed it was the thing with the glass doors. I walked over to it cautiously. There were metal knobs near the bottom. I didn't know how to work it but I couldn't ask for help. I started to shake, my breath stuttered. I sank to the floor and held tightly to my necklace. I felt so alone and helpless. There was a knock on the door.

"Are you okay, Malik?" It was Mariku's voice.

I couldn't say anything.

"I'm coming in okay?"

The door opened and Mariku walked in. He saw me on the floor and walked over quickly.

"What's wrong Malik?" He placed his hand on my cheek.

"I don't know how to use it."

Mariku petted my hair and smiled softly.

"I'll show you." He stood up and held out a hand to help me up. My stubbornness didn't allow me to take it. I stood up on my own. We walked back to the shower.

"This handle here will turn on the shower when it is pointing downward." He turned the handle down and water came out of the device at the top.

"It's like it's raining." I said in awe.

Mariku smiled.

"Yeah it is. This smaller handle will change the temperature. The more it is turned to red, the warmer it will be. The closer to blue, the colder it will be. There is soap for your hair in that container. The towels are hanging by the door." He moved the handle to what he thought was an appropriate temperature for the water.

"I'm going back into the other room." He looked at my neck. "Do you want me to hold your necklace while you are in the shower."

"No!" I held onto it tightly and backed away.

"Easy. I'm not going to take it from you. I'm going back into the other room. Just knock when you are ready for clean clothes."

He walked out and shut the door behind him. I looked at the shower. I could feel warm steam coming from it. It felt inviting. I was covered in dirt. It would be nice to be clean. I slowly removed my boots and then my pants. I was cautious to remove my underwear but the thought of warm water won out. I removed them and walked into the water. I hummed, it felt perfect. I enjoyed the water for a moment before picking up the soap. I put some into my hands and scrubbed it into my hair. When I had scrubbed enough, I began to rinse my hair. My hair seemed to be a brighter color. I turned off the water and walked out to pick up a towel. I ran it through my hair until it was damp and then dried my body. My clothes were gone. I went to the door. I made sure the towel was tight to my waist before I knocked.

The door opened an Marik was there holding some clothes. He stared at me for a moment before speaking.

"You look better. Here are some clothes. Come out when you are done getting dressed."

He closed the door again. I set the clothes on the bench and looked through them. There was a pair of underwear, which I was grateful for. The pants were a cream color that had navy blue on the edges. The shirt was also cream with navy trim, but lacked sleeves. I put them on. The pants fell to my mid shins, but these clothes were better than the clothing I had seen the human wearing in the town.

My necklace even matched, I though grimly.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. Mariku was at the desk and Marik was at the wardrobe. They had both changed into brown pants and boots with gray shirts. Marik smiled when I walked out, he picked up a brush from a table next to him.

"Hey, Malik. You look batter. Do you need me to brush your hair?"

I scrunched my nose. I wasn't a child.

"I can brush my own hair. I walked up to him. I reached for the brush, but he held it up in the air. I jumped and reached for. Marik laughed.

"Nope. I will brush your hair."

I heard Mariku chuckle from the desk.

"Better just let him brush your hair Malik."

"No. Either I brush it or it doesn't get brushed. I'm not allowing the people who kidnapped me treat me like a child."

Marik stop because of my outburst. I snagged the brush from his hand. I walked over to the couch and sat down to brush my hair. Marik sat down next to me.

"I wasn't trying to treat you like a child. I just wanted to help you." He hung his head and I began to feel guilty. But I shouldn't be guilty. They did this to me, but I was still guilty. A cruel thought came to mind, I could get them to trust me, I might be able to escape.

"Fine." I held out the brush. He beamed.

He put his hand on my shoulders and turned me so my back was too him. He then began to brush through my hair. He ran his fingers through it as he brushed. I could feel heat hitting my hair. I turned to look at him. His fingers were steaming.

"What are you doing?"

He looked confused. "Drying your hair."

"Oh." I turned back around. I noticed that on the couch, there was a metal ring. I looked around and there were many more placed around the room. What were they for?

"We need to be leaving soon."

"Just finished his hair." I reached back. My hair was dry and smooth.

"I got the cuffs."

Cuffs. I looked at the rings. I was going to be tied up.

I jumped up, but an arm snagged my waist. I was pulled back down into Marik's lap. I threw my shoulder and elbow back to hit him but another arm wrapped around my shoulders. I fought hard, but the arms constricted tightly around me. Mariku walked around to sit in front of me. He held two leather cuffs with navy stitching. There was a small silver chain holding the leather cuffs together. There was a larger chain that connected to the center of the silver chain. At the end was a clip.

"No! Don't you dare." I screamed. I through my head backward. I kicked at them. It didn't bother them. Mariku grabbed my right wrist first and placed it in the cuff. The inside was soft and comfortable. He pulled my left wrist in a tight grip and placed it in the cuff and locked it in place. I was bound now. Hate filled me.

I looked at them and glared.

"I hate both of you. I will find a way to escape from here. And I'll kill both of you."

They stared at me emotionless.

"Let's go to the throne room. They will be waiting for us."

 **The next update will be on January 22** **nd**


	6. Old Friends

**Please review! All criticism is greatly appreciated. It allows me to learn from my mistakes and make a better story.**

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.

 **Summary** : Sequel to All That I Have Left. Malik has always been a fighter. He has been fighting since he was five years old, after the murder of his mother. Conflicts between rebel groups have alerted the fire generals to their location. Now, a real war will begin as demons and humans clash on the battle field. MalikxMarikxMariku

 **Thank you:**

NightxTsuna for favoriting

GirlFish for the review and continued support. The calm comes before the storm, everything is going to lead to something big. Promise.

 **Chapter 6- Old Friends**

 **Malik POV**

I was in Mariku's arms this time as we walked back into the room with the staircase. They weren't talking to me and I didn't care. I kept myself tensed in his arms. Marik was holding the extra length of my chain. When we made it to the staircase we walked up three levels. There was a huge door right in front of us. Marik went forward to open the door. The room was huge. It took my breath away. Bigger than the resident area in the caves. There were three big chandeliers and a large table. At the end of the table, were two gold thrones. The thrones and the table had rings for chains.

"I knew we would beat them here." Marik said.

"That's fine." Mariku walked over to the right side of the room. There was a window seat there, and it also had rings on it. He sat me down. I jumped up to get away before they locked me here. I wasn't fast enough, Marik locked it before I moved an inch. I yanked at the chain desperate to free myself.

Maiku pushed me back down. "Be good Malik. You aren't getting away."

Marik looked sad. "Yugi will be here soon. Then you will have a friend. Bye, Malik-pretty."

I didn't know who this Yugi was, but I sat down on the seat. I looked out the window at the city. It felt just as crowded up here as it had felt down there. I looked into the distance. I could see the mountains. I heard footsteps walking this way, and I turned my attention from the window. The doors opened. Two demons carrying a human walked into the room. The demons had tall, spiked hair with gold bolt. The tips of their hair had red tips and their eyes were red. The older was tan and the younger was pale. The human in their arms was small. He looked like them but his hair had purple tips and his eyes were light purple. He also lacked the bolts of gold in his hair. The human looked at him and his eyes lit up.

"Malik?! Your alive." He squirmed forcefully in the pale demon's arms and the demon set him down with a chuckle. He removed the cuffs from the human. The human sprinted over to me and threw his arms around me. He held me tightly. "I missed you so much."

I moved back from his embrace.

"I don't know you."

The boy backed away. "I'm Yugi. You don't remember?"

The pale demon walked up with the boy's cuffs.

"He won't remember Yugi. They don't regain their memories when they reincarnate."

"Oh." He looked sad.

"Here Yugi." The demon held out his hand. Yugi held out his wrists and the demon reattached them. He let them chain him up. He didn't even care. He just allowed that demon to tie him up like a dog.

"We will be over there Precious one." He kissed him on the lips and walked away.

He just smiled at him walking away. The older demon watching rolled his eyes and the human laughed.

I had no idea what was even going on. Seth said that there were demons that used humans. Maybe Yugi was being used.

Yugi turned back to me.

"So where to begin. Ask any question."

"How do you think I know you?"

"We lived at the Den together 22 years ago. We met after I had been whipped for talking back to the warden. You help bandage my wounds. We lived in the same room. Around 20 years ago our demons found us at the Den and brought us here."

"Why did they bring us here?"

"They needed humans to bond to?"

"What do you mean by bond to?"

Yugi looked confused.

"Well, it's when two demons use a human's soul to make their own powers stronger. It stabilizes their own soul."

It's just like Seth said. What have I gotten myself into?

"Am I going to die?"

Yugi placed his hands on my lap, shocked.

"No, no. You are going to live. The ritual hurts but they will make sure you will live. Then you will need to stay close to them or you will die. Their powers are already strong because you went through the ritual before. When the human dies, the demons don't lose their new powers. However, if their true bond dies, they become violent and illogical. The only way to stabilize them is through the ritual."

"Will I have to do the ritual?"

Yugi didn't answer but that was answer enough.

"Was I really here before? How do I know you are telling the truth?"

"Well I know because I know how you feel. I was reincarnated as well. I didn't believe it at first but I had… residual memory or feelings about some objects and my surroundings. There is a bench in the garden here that made me feel peaceful. You were here before Malik. You just have to believe me."

"They took me from my home. I lived in the mountains. I'm never going back am I?"

"I don't know. Maybe one day."

"How did I die before?"

Yugi got a faraway look on his face.

"We were taken away to a mine in the mountains to the north. There were four demons, two nobles and two soldiers. The nobles wanted revenge on Atem and Yami. The other two, went after you and Ryou."

"Ryou?"

"There are two more generals. He was their human. He had been with them for four years before we arrived here the first time. He hasn't been found yet, that's if he's been reincarnated yet." Yugi cleared his throat, "Anyway, those two soldiers each had a vendetta for your demons. One of them walked up to you. He kicked you over and over. He broke your ribs and continued kicking. They broke into your lungs. You drowned on your own blood."

That explains Marik and Mariku's over-reaction to my broken ribs. This also could explain why I have always hated caves. The nobles though.

"Did one of the nobles have pink hair and a strong accent?"

Yugi shook his head. "No they are both dead and neither had pink hair. Why?"

"My mom was killed by a demon with pink hair. He dressed really fancy. He said he had been looking for me and that he would be back."

"I don't know who that would be. I could ask Atem and Yami. They know all of the nobles because they are the King and Queen."

"No, don't. They can't know."

"Okay. But you can trust them. They won't hurt you."

"They already have."

Yugi chuckled. "Yeah I guess they have. But they didn't mean too. This is really ironic. All those years ago we sat here with Ryou and he was telling us to trust them. I was just like you. I was opposed to living with demons and being their slave. But he convinced me to give them a chance."

I looked at Marik and Mariku. They were talking with the other demons.

"Did I end up trusting them?"

Yugi smiled. "Yeah you did. You trusted them more easily than I did. You always wanted someone to care for you. I remember that at the meetings when they held you, you fell asleep instantly. Then you cuddled into whoever was holding you."

"I did?" I was incredibly doubtful.

"Yeah."

Yugi stared out at the window. He wasn't pressing me to talk. He just sat calmly. I looked closely at him and I felt protective. I knew that I had known him. This whole mess gave me a headache.

"It bothers me when I think about second lives too."

I nodded. "Can I talk to you again sometime?"

Yugi beamed. "Of course, Malik were friends. Anytime you need to talk, tell your demons and they will tell mine so we can talk. We could even play games."

"Why do we have to stay bound?"

"You won't have to be all the time. It's to make sure you stay safe. You are their true bond. Their soulmate. And after the ritual, if you stray too far, you could die. That's why."

I nodded again. At least I wasn't going to die anytime soon. That's if he was telling the truth. I got the feeling he was though.

Someone was walking over to us. I looked up to see Marik and Mariku, along with the other two.

"Hello, again Malik. I'm Yami." The pale demon said.

"I'm Atem." The tan one said next.

"Hello." I said cautiously and quietly. I wish I had a knife right now. Just something to hold, that made me feel safe.

Both of them turned to Yugi.

"Time to go little one. You need to eat." Atem picked him up and Yami unclipped the chain. Mariku called out before they left.

"I almost forgot. Did the soldiers return who went to explore the other rebel settlement?"

Atem's face was blank. "No soldiers have returned."

Mariku narrowed his eyes. "We will have word sent tonight to try and reach them. We need to feed Malik now."

At the thought of food. My stomach growled. Marik chuckled.

"You must be hungry, for your stomach to growl that loudly." He picked me up. Mariku got the chain.

"Did you have fun?" Mariku asked as he held the door open.

"It was enlightening."

"That's good."

We walked back down the staircase into the hallway. The sun was beginning to set outside.

"I was really here before?"

Marik stopped. "Yeah you were."

"I trusted you?"

Mariku looked me in the eye. "You did."

I nodded and remained silent. They began walking again and they set me on the couch when we made it to the room. Mariku clipped me onto the couch. Marik pointed at the fire place and the fire started. I felt the warmth almost instantly. I laid down the length of the couch.

"I'm going to pick up some food and message the soldiers." Mariku said and walked out of the room.

"Your taking up the whole couch Malik." Marik picked up my feet and placed them in his lap. He placed his hands on my calves.

"I don't know who I am anymore." I whispered.

"I do. Your Malik and you are ours."

I nodded and buried my head in the cushions. I was so confused. I didn't know who I had to be. The friend to Yugi and mate to these demons, or the fighter that my father had groomed me to be. I wanted to continue to fight these demons, I wanted to go home, but I also wanted to learn more. I wanted to trust them.

I jumped when Marik's hand began to move up and down my calf in a soothing manner. He laughed softly.

"You must be thinking hard. Your eyebrows are scrunched together."

"I was. This is a lot to take in." I looked at him but he was staring at the fire.

"I wish we could just give you back your memories. It might be easier for you after the ritual."

"When will that be?"

"Soon. You don't have to worry about that yet."

"But- "

The door opened and Mariku walked in with a plate of food. He looked around the room for us before his eyes settled on the couch. He smiled at us and walked over with a tray. Marik picked me up by the shoulders and leaned my body against his. Mariku sat down next to us and picked through the tray of ham and vegetables. He picked up a broccoli spear and held it up to me.

"I can feed myself, you know." But I stilled opened my mouth for the food.

The food was delicious. The best I have ever had. I finished eating quickly. At the end, Mariku brought up a cup of water and I took a long gulp. Now that I was done eating, I yawned. I had a full stomach finally, and now I was tired. I looked at the single bed. Where would I be made to sleep?

"Are you tired now, Malik? Let's go to bed."

Marik lifted me up.

He walked over to the bed. I squirmed and struggled. He set me on the center of the bed and clipped the chain onto the headboard. I sat up and yanked at the chain. Something landed on the bed behind me and grabbed my waist to pull me back down. Mariku was lying under the blankets on his side.

"Settle down Malik, you were behaving so well."

I kicked at Mariku, but missed. "I don't want to be in the same bed as both of you."

Marik just chuckled. "Remember to behave Malik, we know where your caves could be."

I quieted instantly, fear ran through my system.

"Good boy." Marik pulled back the rest of the blankets under me. I laid completely still. I began to hyperventilate and panic when Marik laid down in front of me and pulled me close.

Mariku nuzzled into my neck. "Shh. You're okay. We won't do anything to you, but you need to sleep."

It didn't help to calm me down.

Mariku lifted his head to look at Marik. He nodded.

Mariku kissed the back of my neck. I felt warmth spread from there to the rest of my body. It was calming, like when I sat by the fire. My eyelids grew heavy. I couldn't stay away.

"Sleep well, our little fighter."

 **The next update will be on January 29th**

 **I am back at college now, so when things become hectic, I may need to take a week off. I love writing but I love good grades as well so please respect that. I thank everyone for their support!**


	7. Let's Play a Game

**Please review! All criticism is greatly appreciated. It allows me to learn from my mistakes and make a better story.**

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.

 **Summary** : Sequel to All That I Have Left. Malik has always been a fighter. He has been fighting since he was five years old, after the murder of his mother. Conflicts between rebel groups have alerted the fire generals to their location. Now, a real war will begin as demons and humans clash on the battle field. MalikxMarikxMariku

 **Thank you:**

 **BloodRedNightinGale435** for favoriting and following the story and for following and favoriting me.

 **GirlFish** for the review and continued support. Yeah the demon will be named in this chapter. Their memories will never fully return, after the ritual Mariku and Marik could share their old memories but Malik will never get his back. There is going to be a big war that will need everyone's help to end. That means the humans and demons will need to team up. Yeah there are a lot of reasons that humans are rebelling.

 **Let's gets the drama started shall we?**

 **Chapter 7- Let's Play a Game**

 **Malik POV**

I woke up to the sun on my face. I was warm and comfortable. Marik and Mariku were nowhere to be seen, but I heard noise coming from the bathroom. It was water running. I sat up against the headboard. I couldn't leave the bed because of the cuffs. The room was slightly chilly and sunlight was coming through the windows. Even in my situation, I felt at peace. It was so strange. I wondered what my sister was doing. Was she training like she did every morning? Was she arguing with Jou? Was my father siting behind his desk with dark look?

I shook myself out of my thoughts, they would only cause me pain in the end. I hung my head and looked down at the navy blanket. Why did this have to happen to me? What made me so special?

I heard the knob being turned for the bathroom door. It opened to show Marik wearing a pain of black pants and no shirt. He was rubbing a towel through his hair. His chest was toned and I blushed. I had known I was gay for some time now, and even though I hated these demons, I was not immune to their looks.

"You look well rested Malik. Mariku left to pick up some food for you and he needed to get in contact with some of our men."

I nodded. Marik walked to a wardrobe and opened it to pick out a shirt. When he had put on a gray shirt, he threw the towel on the ground and walked over to me.

"I'm assuming you would like to leave the bed. I can take you over to the couch, or you can walk around the room. You look so sad, Malik-pretty."

"Can I walk around?"

He nodded and removed the long chain to leave me only in the cuff. I slid from the bed and walked over to one of the windows. The ledge was wide enough so that I could sit comfortably. I assumed that we were on the opposite side of the castle than the side we entered on, because outside the window I couldn't see the town but a training yard with barracks. I remember that the intel we had on the blond generals, was that their men specialized in hidden attacks. The governed over the spies as well. The rebels that escaped their attacks reported that it looked as though the demons emerged from the smoke. Considering the show Marik gave me of his powers last night, I could now see that they had been telling the truth about their experiences. I also could tell that they were a lot more powerful than they were letting on.

I scanned the horizon. I was pleased that I could see the mountains. I had no idea which one belonged to my family, but it was comfort to know that they were still out there.

The main door opened and Mariku walked in. He smiled at me first.

"Good morning, Malik. Morning, my love." He walked over to Marik and kissed him. Mariku then turned back to me.

"You must be hungry Malik. I'm going to put your food on the table by the fire."

He sat the tray down and walked back to Marik at the desk. I walked cautiously to the food and sat on the floor in front of the couch. There must have been some trick. They were letting me feed myself. My curiosity got the best of me.

"Why are you letting me eat on my own?"

They smirked at me. Mariku walked slowly over to me.

"Why Malik? Did you miss us feeding you?"

"No." I said indignantly and began to pick at my food.

Marik sat down behind me on the couch.

"We thought it would be best to give you some freedom. We don't want you to feel caged." I was happy with that. "We need to meet with our men today. We also want to train today. Would you like to train with us?"

I choked on my food.

"You would give me a weapon. Let me use it against you to train?"

Marik nodded and smiled coyly.

"We thought of something last night. We came up with a game. When we train, if you manage to win the fight, you can eat on your own, sleep by yourself. But if we win, we get to feed you and you have to sleep with us, and you won't fight us. Agreed Malik."

I looked at them both warily. "I can use any weapon that I want."

"Yes."

"Very well then. I accept."

They both had a dangerous look on their face that made me want to back away.

"Great. We will need to leave soon. There are some clothes you can change into in the bathroom, when you are done eating."

"I'm full." I began to stand.

"No you're not. You haven't finished your food. Just because we aren't going to feed you doesn't mean that you won't finish all of your food. Eat."

I sat down and finished. They allowed me to stand, but before I went to the bathroom. Mariku caught my arm and took off my cuffs.

"Go now."

I went into the bathroom and used the toilet first. I went over the small basin. It had the same silver knobs as the shower. I turned one of them and cold water came out. I ran my hands through the water and splashed some up on my face. I turned and saw that a set of clothes had been placed on the bench. My boots were also next to the pile of clothes. The clothes were like the ones that I was wearing except the pants were plain and the shirt was completely navy in color. I changed quickly and pulled on my boots.

I walked back out and they were both standing by the door.

"Are you ready to leave? You will need to wear cuffs until later. Rules around the palace."

I walked up to them.

"Can I at least walk?"

Marik nodded. "At least until later when you lose."

"As if." I scoffed as Mariku replaced my cuffs and chain.

"Let's leave." Mariku opened the door and we walked out. "One of the men have returned after following that human back to the camp. He was injured and claims that his partner was killed. They left him alive to send us a message."

"What human?" I asked.

Marik turned around to look at me.

"Said his name was Keith. Did you know him?"

"Yeah he was the lead the forces of the Western Rebels. The group is actually lead by a man called Aknadin, but he never leaves their base."

"We heard that there are two groups of rebels and that they were fighting. Why are you fighting?"

"Aknadin believes that we conspire with the demons. If he saw me here, he would have all the proof he needed to kill my whole family."

A hand landed on my back, and rubbed my spine.

"Then he will never see you here."

We continued to walk through the halls and down stairs until we went outside to a courtyard. One side of the courtyard had weapon racks. The other side had tables and maps under tents.

"Don't you have rooms that you and your men can work in instead of a tent."

Marik nodded. "We used to but there was an attack on the palace. Our meeting rooms have yet to be fixed. There were other parts of the palace that needed more repairs."

"Oh."

"Come." We walked into the tent and they brought me over to a spike in the ground in the corner of the tent behind the table. There was a ring placed on it. They attached me to it. I sat down in the cool grass and leaned against the side of the tent. Marik ran a hand through my hair. I could hear laughter and talk coming toward the tent.

"You can talk during the meeting only if we ask you a question. Otherwise do not speak or respond to the other demons. We are going to be meeting with our captains, so it won't be long."

I nodded. I was interested in hearing about what may be discussed.

Both Marik and Mariku, walked to the side of the table closest to me.

"Come in."

Three men walked in with brown hair but with different colored eyes. One of them had red eyes, the other dark blue, and the last had light blue. The last man that walked in, was one that I recognized. The last time I had seen him had been in the dining hall in the caves. He turned to look at me and recognition shown in his eyes. He turned back to look at Marik and Mariku.

Seeing his recognition, gave me hope. I knew that he gathered information from the palace to report to my father. I needed to find a way to speak with him but with my demons always around me, it might be difficult to manage that.

Mariku addressed the other three men first starting with the dark blue eyed one.

"Timaeus, you lead the search to the north to search for Siegfried's home base. What have you found?"

"We were unsuccessful in locating their exact location but there was some evidence of humans within the area and we believe that one of the rebel groups may have been I contact with the groups."

Mariku nodded and turned to me.

"Well Malik. Do you know of a Siegfried?"

"No I have never heard of him before." I didn't mind suppling information that did not affect my family.

"It must be the other group them. Which leads us to the next question. Hermos and Critias. I understand that one of your men that followed that human to the rebel camp, has returned with a message."

The one with the red eyes stepped forward.

"Yes sir. The message said that the leader of the Western Rebels, Aknadin, has requested that we meet him at Walkers Pass in two days. He said that there were things he would like to discuss. He also said that he knows the son of the Eastern leader is with us in the palace and requests that he be present."

Marik growled.

"We can't do that. He would be exposed. We were also planning the ritual for tomorrow night. We will have to wait now."

The demon spy stepped forward. "If I may my lords?"

Mariku nodded. "Yes Yusei.

"You said that he was trained well in combat. Leave him in my care during the meet up and I will protect him. If something should go wrong, I will take him back to the palace."

Mariku looked at Marik. Marik was fidgeting.

"That may be our best solution to the problem. We need information from these rebels. Timaeus, Hermos, Critias, inform the men of the situation. I want them ready to leave tomorrow morning. We will inform the King and Queen of the situation at the meeting this evening. For now, leave and ready yourselves. It will be a long ride to Walkers Pass."

The four captains walked out of the tent. Before Yusei walked out, Marik talked.

"Yusei, have you been to see Jaden lately."

Yusei stopped and shook his head.

"You need too. Mahad's spell is weakening and he passed out yesterday. He will not be able to keep him here much longer. He has already prolonged his life enough. He needs you."

"I can't not yet. I will talk to Mahad about the spell." Yusei spoke and left the tent.

Mariku shook his head. Marik walked over to sit down next to me.

"A servant will be here soon with some food and then we can begin our game. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready to win." I smiled.

"That reminds me," Mariku said as he walked to the opening of the tent, "I need to find some weapons for you. We still have your boot knives and you can have those back tomorrow before we leave. I know you had long knives when you first attacked us. Do you want the same kind of weapon?"

"Yes."

Mariku left then to find the weapons and a servant entered soon after. The small blond servant handed the tray to Marik who sat it down in front of me. Marik removed my cuffs and I began to eat. I had a sandwich and slices of apple. The food was filling and refreshing. By the time I had finished, Mariku had returned. He was holding two long knives that were around the same length as my old ones, along with a belt for my waist to hold them.

"Will these work?"

I stood up and took the knives from him. They were balanced slightly differently than mine. I swung them a few times in my fingers. I could still use them however. "Yeah, they will work. Are we going to start now?"

Marik stood up behind me and walked out of the tent.

"Yes. Are you ready?" Mariku held open the front of the tent for me. I nodded and walked out. Marik was at the weapons rack. He pulled a scimitar free from the rack and twirled it in his hand. I went to the center of the field and waited. I wondered if I would be facing them both at once. It didn't bother me. Marik walked into the field and stood 10 feet from me. He was smiling and something about his smile put me on edge. Mariku picked out a short sword and stood on the other side of Marik.

"We will begin when you are ready. Remember the terms if we win. You have to behave for the rest of the evening. And we win the instant you hit the ground. You win when one of us hit the ground."

"Fine by me, because I'm not losing."

"Okay then." Mariku jumped forward raising his sword to strike me. I blocked the sword easily with the left knife and struck at him with the right one. Marik jumped for me and blocked the right knife from hitting Mariku. I jumped back and dropped into a defensive stance. Marik came after me and sliced at me. I caught his scimitar and turned to find Maiku behind me. I brought another knife to block his blow. A hand grabbed my left wrist but I held onto my knife tightly. I twisted and kicked at him. He fell backward, but caught himself before he hit the ground. I smiled, I had the upper hand. I twisted around and blocked Mariku's next blow, when two hands grabbed my shoulder. I twisted around and tried to fight Marik off. His grip was two strong and he ripped me backward. I hit the ground and kicked at Mariku who was still above me. He dropped his sword and jumped on me to sit on my stomach. He held my arms down and sat back. I was aware that I had now lost and laid back panting. I was also aware of the fact that Mariku and I were uncomfortably close. Marik was smiling above me. I huffed.

"Alright, you won. Now let me up."

"Oh no, you lost. Ask nicely."

"Please let me up." I gritted my teeth.

"What do you think Marik? Should we let him up?"

"Yeah, I think so. We need to give him some water."

"True do you have the cuffs?"

"Yes."

Marik let go of my shoulders and walked back to the tent. Mariku got off me and took my knives. I tried to get up but he pushed me back to the ground. I huffed at him and glared.

"Hey now Malik, you lost fair and square."

He walked back and picked me up to take me to the tent where Marik was waiting. Marik reattached my cuffs. After that he picked up a cup of water and allowed me a drink. I finished the glass and I was still thirsty.

"Can I have more?"

"Of course." Marik said and filled another cup of water. He gave me the cup and I relaxed in Mariku's arms.

"We should head to the meeting. It will begin soon." Marik told Mariku.

They began to walk out of the training grounds and into the castle.

"A meeting?"

Mariku nodded. "All of the King and Queen's advisors and generals hold meetings so that we may be able to advise them on choices. This will be one of those meetings. Don't worry, you can just sleep through it. You always used to. You must be tired since we kicked your ass." He laughed.

"You did not! It was two against one and I almost knocked Marik to the ground."

"That is true. You almost did." Marik said, "I probably have a bruise from that kick." They both laughed.

I just rolled my eyes. We were headed back to the room where I met Yugi the other day.

"Will I see Yugi today?"

Marik looked at me sadly, walking up to open the door.

"Sorry Malik. There won't be a chance. By the time the meeting is over it will be late. When we return from the rendezvous with the Western Leader, you can meet with him then. It might help you to talk with him then because we are doing the ritual as soon as we return."

"We will?" I asked nervously.

"Yes," Mariku said, "We've waited long enough."

He then pushed open the doors and we walked in. The long table I had seen the other day was almost completely full except for two chairs, I assumed were Mariku and Marik's.

"Your late." A deep voice said that rang through the hall with authority.

I looked at the thrones. Atem and Yami were there. Yugi was in Yami's lap. He was smiling at me and I felt calmer. Even with all the eyes on me from the people at the tables. Isis was there next to two white hair demons, who were glaring at me. I had no idea why they were so angry with me.

"Yeah, we know that we are late. Got to keep you all on your toes." Marik said and we began walking to

"We knew that you both would be late. You also smell of sweat. What were you three doing?" Isis said smiling.

"We were playing a game. Marik and I won. Isn't that right Malik?"

I rolled my eyes at them. Mariku sat down with me in his lap. Marik began to pet my hair.

Atem stood up in front of his throne and spoke.

"Now that everyone is here. We can finally begin the meeting. First off, Bakura and Akefia. I understand you have news about the battle in the eastern front against Siegfried's forces."

The white demons stood up and began to talk about the armies' conquest.

I yawned.

Marik leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"You can sleep Malik. You won't get in trouble for it."

I yawned again and my eyes drooped. I wanted to stay awake to listen to the meeting though. I watched the younger white hair demon a crossed the table. He was staring directly at me. His eyes held my attention though. They look incredibly sad. Why was he so angry earlier looking at me and now he looked to be in anguish? I would have to ask Mariku and Marik later. I looked at Yugi again who was watching our interaction. He also looked sad. He felt my gaze and looked at me before curling up into Yami who tightened his hold on him. Yugi turned his head into his chest and his breathing slowed. I listened to the meeting for a while longer, thinking through everything that had happened today. I saw Yusei and he may be able to find a way to free me. For some reason, that didn't calm me much. My emotions were in turmoil. I think that I was beginning to care about these demons. I was beginning to long for the life I used to have before this one. I missed my life as a rebel as well. I missed fighting. I missed my father and my sister. I knew a choice was coming. I just wondered when I was going to be forced to choice what life I wanted and the life I used to have. I would need to choose who I needed to be.

 **See what I did there, did you see? Just for reference. Mariku and Marik lead the spies and soldiers that specialize in stealth missions. Bakura and Akefia work with the main army.**

 **The next update will be on February 5** **th**


	8. Walkers Pass

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.

 **Summary** : Sequel to All That I Have Left. Malik has always been a fighter. He has been fighting since he was five years old, after the murder of his mother. Conflicts between rebel groups have alerted the fire generals to their location. Now, a real war will begin as demons and humans clash on the battle field. MalikxMarikxMariku

 **Thank you:**

 **tfandanimefan** for favoriting

 **GirlFish** for the review and continued support. Aknadin is only one part of the rebellion. He's greedy. I plan on introducing someone at the end of this story who will be bad enough everyone will need to work together. Mana will play a bigger role in Ryou's story but will be seen in this one. Thanks for asking questions!

 **Chapter 8- Walker's Pass**

 **Malik POV**

I stayed asleep for the rest of the meeting, and only woke briefly when the meeting ended. They carried me back to our room, with me dozing along the way. I stayed awake after they brought food for me to eat and when I went to take a shower. Luckily, they didn't follow me in there. However, as soon as I walked out of the bathroom. I was picked up and taken back to the bed. I didn't fight them and after a few minutes I was asleep.

I woke up in the morning with my face in a pillow and a head on my back. I twisted and pushed whoever was on me, off. It was a new day after all and I could fight back again.

Marik fell off of him with an "uff". He looked up at the canopy of the bed and sighed.

"I knew it wouldn't last forever."

"What the day ended? I don't have to follow your rules anymore."

The door opened.

"He's right Marik." Mariku said as he walked into the room with a tray of food for me.

Marik got up and removed my cuffs so I could go to eat. Mariku had placed the tray by the couches again. I got up and began eating. Marik moved off the bed and walked to the closet, where he grabbed a change of clothes. These were smoke colored and went well with his tan skin. When he started to change I looked away. Both of the demons were handsome, but there was no way I was giving them the gratification of seeing me blush because of that. Mariku went over to change as well.

"I've put your clothes in the bathroom again Malik. We need to leave soon so finish eating quickly."

I nodded and continued to eat. I finished soon after and went into the bathroom. Mariku and Marik seemed to be acting pretty serious today. They seemed very worried that I would be going with them. I had never met Aknadin before, but I wasn't afraid. I was a good fighter. I'm confident in myself.

I walked to the bench that they put my clothes on. I was shocked to see the clothes that I had been wearing the day I left the caves. I put them on with a smile, feeling the familiar fabric against my skin. I pulled on my boots and walked back out into the main room. They were both waiting for me by the door.

Marik put the cuffs back on and we walked out of the room. We went back to the main courtyard that I had been brought through on the first day. The sun was just beginning to rise over the second wall making the sky look bright. Many soldiers were already there, including the three from the other day and Yusei. All of them were on horses. There were three brown horses without riders I assumed were ours. It looked like we were late again. At least they were letting me ride my own horse, even though the reins on one were connected to another. Marik walked up to the horse with me and lifted me on the horse. He unclipped the chain and hooked the cuffs to the saddle. Mariku walked up with some knives. The two long ones and my boot knives. He hooked the two long knives to the saddle. He grabbed my foot and slipped one of the knives into place. He then walked to the other side and put the other knife in. Marik got up on the horse connected to mine. Mariku place his hand on my knee.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yes. Should be fun." I smiled at him. He nodded and smiled at me.

Mariku walked to his horse and got on.

"We will move out now. We will rest at noon and then at sundown we will make camp near the gorge."

Mariku walked his horse to the gate, with all of u following. Marik kept my horse close on his left side. I looked to my left to see Yusei. He nodded at me and continued to look ahead as we rode out of the town. The town was pretty much the same. I didn't understand why humans in the palace were treated with some kindness, but in the town, they were treated like dirt. As we left the town through the gate, I looked back at the palace. I didn't feel as happy I thought I would be about leaving that place behind. It almost felt like I wouldn't be coming back for a while. And I was very happy about that.

We rode for hours. Marik and I talked for most of the time about the area around us. We took a path toward the south that eventually led to a forest and mountains. We stopped in a clearing to rest the horses and I was placed by a tree with some dried meat and a water skin. I just sat in the shade and ate while I watched Marik and Mariku talk with their captains. Yusei wasn't with them though. I looked around the camp for him when I heard someone talk next to me.

"Looking for me."

I smiled at him. "You don't how happy I am to see you. Is my family okay?"

Yusei sat down next to me.

"Your father and sister wanted to storm the palace. Your sister almost did. I assured them I would find a way to get you out. They gave me a week to save you."

"So can you?"

Yusei looked at the trees.

"I have an idea. Just be ready to run. After you were taken, the Eastern rebels moved to the second location just a few hours north of Walkers Pass. Do you remember where it is?"

"Yeah." I had gone there a few times in the past to rest when we were looking for Westerns. It was nowhere near as big as the main caves were, but they were probably worried that I had compromised the caves.

"Be ready to head there when I say so."

I nodded.

"What are you two talking about?"

Mariku was walking up to us with a curious look on his face. Yusei stood up and bowed to him.

"I was explaining to him that I will be guarding him tomorrow during the meet up."

Mariku nodded and reached down to pick me up. "We will be leaving now."

I watched as Yusei walked to his horse.

"You two seemed pretty friendly."

I looked up at Mariku, he seemed upset.

"Are you jealous?"

Mariku snorted and shook his head.

"No."

I laughed. "You're lying."

Mariku smirked and place me back on my horse.

Marik was already on his horse next to me, looking at the tree I had just been sitting at. I hope that they didn't expect anything.

We began moving forward in a gallop. It was quiet for many hours and I occupied myself by looking at the forest around us and the growing hills in the distance. Time moved slowly however and I quickly became bored. I slumped in the saddle and began to braid the horse's mane. After a while, my eyelids began to droop.

I felt arms latch onto my shoulders and I was pulled off the saddle and onto Mariku's horse. I looked up at him questionably.

"You were swaying. Sleep here for a while. I'll make sure you won't fall off."

I was laying sideways so I could turn my body into his chest to hide from the sun. I closed my eyes.

I was awoken later when the party came to a stop. I was handed to Marik and he laid me down by a tree. I yawned.

"Stay here until we get the tent up."

I nodded. We were next to a lake and the sky was orange. It was slightly chilly outside. On the other side of the lake, was a gorge. I guessed we were only a few hours away from the pass. All of the other soldiers were making camp and pitching tents. Yusei was tying his horse to a tree nearby. He raised his arms above his head and stretched. With luck, I would be back with my family tomorrow. I would see my sister. Within twenty minutes, the camp was set up with a large fire in the middle that Mariku had started. Marik came back for me.

"Come on, Malik. We have food back in the tent and a fire. You look cold."

He took me to a tent closet to the fire and brought me inside. There was a steak in the ground in the middle of a tent. They hooked a chain to the steak and chained me too it. The chain looked long enough that I could walk around the tent. I removed the weapons around my waist to lay my knives by the steak. I went to sit down on the bed. Mariku brought me an apple and some more dried for me to eat. They also gave a glass of water. I ate quickly. Mariku and Marik were talking over by a table. They were discussing what was going to happen tomorrow. That they didn't see any enemy soldiers on their way into the area, so they think they may be camping by the pass. I yawned and leaned back on the bed. I felt someone tugging on my feet. I lifted my head to see Mariku taking off my boots.

"How long did I sleep today?"

"You were only asleep for 2 hours. Listen about tomorrow. You will be behind us at all times. Yusei will be watching you and will have horses ready to run if you need to. We sensed demons in the nearby area and we believe that Aknadin may have demon allies."

I shook my head.

"He wouldn't have demon allies. He despises demons."

"Well, we need to be ready for anything. Maybe he made an alliance. It's either that or we need to be ready for an ambush. There are a few demons who we believe may be conspiring with human rebels."

I thought of Yusei. "Do you know of any yet?"

Mariku nodded. "There is a demon called Sigfried who has been seen with humans."

Marik walked over to us and laid on the bed.

"Enough talk. I want to relax and sleep."

Arms grabbed my waist and brought me to the middle of the bed. He curled me into him. Mariku chuckled and laid down in front of me. I began to drift off when Mariku started to talk.

"Whatever happens tomorrow, Malik. Promise us you won't leave us."

"I won't." I lied.

We were five minutes from Walkers Pass and still no sign of Aknadin's soldiers or the demons Mariku had sensed. We had packed up camp early in the morning. They wanted to get a head start so that we could arrive at Walkers Pass first. They had managed to pack up camp before the sun even began to rise. I was tense. I knew that something was about to happen, and the soldiers knew that too. I was ready. I had my knives tied around my waist and in my boots. We were walking into the area right now. We had stowed our horses in the woods with a few of the soldiers.

"We're here. Be on guard. They could be nearby." Mariku said and came over to where I was with Marik. They had taken off my cuffs this morning, so I was free right now. "Malik, you're going to stay with Yusei now. Be careful."

He was staring at me intently and then he hugged me, tightly. He was shaking and his eyes were beginning to glow. They were worried. Mariku walked away after that. Marik leaned down to hug me too. He was shaking as well.

"Please don't leave us Malik, not again."

I jumped a little shocked. Last night, I though they told me that because they thought I would get hurt. Maybe they actually did know what I was planning to do with Yusei.

"I won't leave you." I told him shakily.

He nodded into my neck. He pulled his head up to stare at me for a second, before he leaned back down. I was too shocked to move away when I felt his lips on mine. When Marik walked away, I didn't even notice.

Yusei walked to my side.

"We should move back toward the side we entered on. That way we can leave quickly and make it to the horses."

"If this works, they would kill you. Aren't you worried? They mentioned someone else that day in the tent. His name was Jaden, aren't you worried about him?"

Yusei looked down as if he was guilty.

"I'm trying to save him by helping you. He is safe for now. Hurry they are coming."

I nodded and we moved to a safe distance. I saw the men approaching. There were ten humans and four demons. I saw Keith in front and Aknadin next to him. They were both dressed for a fight in green colors of the Westerns. The demons were dressed in grey, but they had pink bands on theirs arms. The color was familiar to me but I couldn't place it. They stopped 30 feet from us and Aknadin stepped forward.

"Generals, I see that you came after all. Is the Eastern's son here as well?"

I stepped into his line of sight and he sneered.

"I see my intel told the truth. What would your father say, siding with demons?"

"It wasn't by choice." I snarled.

Marik stepped forward to gain Aknadin's attention.

"What did you want to meet to speak about?"

Aknadin laughed.

"I certainly didn't want to speak with you, demon. My compatriot did however. Sigfried?" He called behind him.

"I am here."

My breath caught in my throat. That voice! I looked around wildly to find where the accented voice came from. I gripped the knives at my waist when I saw him. He looked the same as he did all those years ago. He was even dressed similarly. He was the man who killed my mother. The man with the pink hair that promised he would come back for me, was none other than Sigfried. The man that even the demon army couldn't find. I pulled out my knives. I ran out front before Yusei could stop me.

"You!" I screamed. "You killed my mother!"

Mariku snagged my waist before I got to him and held me to his side. I struggled to reach the man, who was watching the scene with interest. He was smiling darkly at me.

"Well, Well. Malik. It's been some time."

 **I'm still not completely happy with this chapter but it's better than it was at least.**

 **The next update will be February 12** **th**

 **Please review! All criticism is greatly appreciated. It allows me to learn from my mistakes and make a better story.**


	9. Choices

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.

 **Summary** : Sequel to All That I Have Left. Malik has always been a fighter. He has been fighting since he was five years old, after the murder of his mother. Conflicts between rebel groups have alerted the fire generals to their location. Now, a real war will begin as demons and humans clash on the battle field. MalikxMarikxMariku

 **Thank you:**

for following and the review. I'm glad you liked the ending. I did too. I like drama.

 **DDLDarkHeartofWater** for the review and continued support. Yeah!

 **GirlFish** for the review and continued support. Mana is going to fight. She will also be seen in this story later on. Some of your other questions are going to be addressed in the chapter, but now all. Aknadin has his own agenda. That will be next chapter.

 **Chapter 9 – Choices**

 **Malik POV**

I struggled to get to Siegfried. Mariku was holding me tightly. He growled at Siegfried. Marik stepped in front of us.

"How do you know him?"

Siegfried laughed smoothly.

"It is how he said. I killed his mother. I had been looking for him at the time. I had hoped to find an older human. He was too young. So I promised I would return for him."

"What do you want with him?" Mariku asked.

"I am merely a humble servant to a powerful master. He wishes to complete his collection, but he is missing two humans. I already brought one for him." Siegfried said staring at me.

Marik pulled out his scimitar and bared his fangs.

Mariku's eyes were glowing. He looked behind him.

"Yusei!"

A second later he appeared next to us and pulled me away from Mariku.

"He will be safe with me, my lords."

Mariku nodded and pulled out his sword. "No one escapes." He told his men. Flames grew around the soldiers and the last thing I saw before the area was covered in smoke was Marik's eyes one me. Then the fighting started.

Yusei pulled me away quickly. I ran to keep up with him.

"As soon as we get to the horses, you need to leave to go home." He said when we made it back to the horses. He pulled me too my horse. I tried to tug my arm free from his grip. I wanted to go back and get my revenge.

"No! I have to go back."

Yusei turned back to me angrily.

"What do you want more Malik? To return to your family or to get revenge? You can get your revenge at any time, but this is your last chance to return home. I couldn't care less what you choose but I need to return to the palace. I have someone I need to protect so either leave now or stop wasting my time."

He went to his horse and began to ride off back the way we came this morning. I looked back to where the fight was happening. Yusei was right. This was my only chance. I jumped onto my horse and rode off as fast as I could. The second hideout was a half days ride from Walkers Pass. I need to get there quickly before Mariku and Marik figured out I had left. As I rode, I was overcome with strange emotions. I would miss the palace. I wouldn't see Yugi again and I was worried he would be disappointed in me. What bothered me more, was how much it hurt me that I wouldn't see Mariku and Marik.

I shook my head to clear it. I was going home. I need to forget everything that has happened. I rode hard for two hours before I slowed the horse to rest next to a stream for a drink. I took the horse next to the water and got a drink myself. When I was done, I sat against a rock and touched the necklace around my neck. As I absorbed the information from earlier for the first time. My mother had been killed because Siegfried was looking for me. She didn't tell him and she was killed. She died protecting me. I tightened my hand around the pendant. I would kill him and his "master" that was so interested in me. I stood back up and moved to my horse. It was time to go home.

Hours later, I made it to the hideout. I rode to the entrance and dismounted when I was close enough. As I walked in I saw movement.

"Malik?!" A surprised voice called. I saw Jou run out of the shadows. He jumped on me and hugged me. "We thought we would never see ya again. Ishizu and your father searched everywhere for ya. We all lost hope until Yusei said he could find ya."

I returned the hug.

"Are they here?"

"Yes, they are in the meeting room looking at maps. I'll take your horse."

"Thanks." I walked out. The halls were empty. My nerves were so high I ended up running to the room. I stopped in front of the door. I could hear voices inside the room.

"He will be back Ishizu. Yusei has never failed me before."

"I know. I just miss him so much."

I pushed open the door.

"What do you- Malik!"

"Malik!" Ishizu jumped at me and pulled me tight in a hug. She was crying and mumbling nonsense I couldn't hear. My father walked around the desk and held us both. He was crying as well. I couldn't believe it. My father always acted so strong and confident. I have never seen him cry. Not even when my mother died. I began to cry as well. It was several minutes later when we broke apart. My father moved the both of us to two chairs in front of his desk. My sister kept my hand in a tight grip, like she was afraid I was going to disappear.

"You need to tell us everything that has happened Malik."

And I did. From the day I walked out into the oasis, to this morning at Walkers Pass. I didn't leave out any details even though I was ashamed about what had happened between me, Mariku and Marik. My father never showed that he was ashamed of me. He kept his face expressionless. I felt so easy to compress the last few days into a story. I made it seem easier than it actually was. When I was done talking, I felt as if a weight had been lifted off of me.

"I'm sorry I was not stronger father. I fought back as much as I could. I wanted to return home."

My father walked around the desk and knelt in front of me.

"I am not disappointed in you. You returned and that is what matters. You have also iven us valuable information about the palace and about Aknadin's movements. Now that we know he allied himself with the demons, we have cause to raid and destroy his came. If the demon generals haven't already killed him. I will send out scouts tomorrow. For now, rest. Spend time with your sister. I'm so happy you have returned my son. I realized after you had been captured that the last time I had seen you, we had fought. I didn't want that to be your last me and prayed for your return." He smiled and I hugged him again. Maybe my father wasn't as tough as he seemed to be.

My sister and I left after that. She was still holding my hand and we walked to the sleeping area.

"You have to share a room with me. There aren't as many rooms here. Your stuff is already in there for you."

"Great." I said smiling.

"I really didn't want to share a room with my younger brother, but I guess I will have too."

I squeezed her hand tighter. I felt so free.

"Are you hungry? Or do you want to go and lie down?"

"I want to change my clothes and then we can go and get something to eat."

She nodded and walked to the room. The doorway was covered by a blanket. There were two beds against one wall with a few feet beside them. There was a fire in the center of the room.

"Your bed is the far one and your clothes are in your riding bag."

I nodded and walked over to get my clothes. My old knives were next to the bag along with my bow. I removed the weapons that Mariku and Marik had given me and threw them into a corner.

"Are you going to leave the room so I can change?"

"Oh are we shy now?" She laughed and left the room.

I changed quickly and walked out to join her. She was standing next to Seto and Jou. Seto nodded to me.

"You still have the necklace? Those demons let you keep it."

"I wouldn't let them take it. Can we not talk about that?"

She nodded and we all walked to where the mess hall was.

They were serving soup and rice tonight. I picked up a plate and walked to a table with the other three. We ate in silence. Jou and Ishizu weren't even bickering. They were acting cautious and I knew why.

"You don't need to worry about me. I just need to return to the way things once were. Just act normally. Please."

Jou and Ishizu looked down ashamed. Seto just smiled. We all soon began to talk and act normally. When we were done Ishizu and Jou left first. I stopped Seto before he walked out. He looked knowingly at me.

"So I was right about what you were."

"I'm still not sure it was the truth, but I feel as if it was true. I just want to make sure, you're not planning to bond with Jou, I don't want that for him."

"I was never going to. I don't believe in bonding. That is why I joined the rebels. However, I know that the King and Queen are not evil. Neither are the generals."

I nodded. "There is something I need to tell about what happened today. Aknadin was working with a demon with pink hair. His name was Siegfried. He said he was a servant to a more powerful master. He said that his master was looking to complete a collection. That he already had one of the things he needed. What could he be looking for?"

"I'm assuming because he wanted you. He is looking for humans. I wonder why you though? And who the other human is? I know there were a few demons who would collect humans with strong souls as trophies and pets. These demons were clan leaders and kings from other lands. I will do some research on this subject. Come and find me tomorrow."

"Thank you Seto." I walked back to my room where my sister was waiting.

"Did you have a good discussion with Seto?"

"Yeah, it may prove useful."

"Father has sent out scouts to Aknadins terretiry they should return tomorrow night. Then he will send out a group of raiders depending on the search results."

"I want to go with them."

"No. You can't go. We can't lose you again."

"But I want revenge for mom. I deserve to fight."

"What about the demon generals? They are looking for you."

"They think that Yusei is taking me back to the palace. It was a two days ride from Walkers Pass. They would have to return there to realize that I was gone."

"Still Malik. What is something happened and you were taken again? Or killed? That demon Siegfried is looking for you." Ishizu eyes began to glass over. "I can't go through this again, Malik."

I walked over and sat down next to her and pulled her close

"I promise I would risk myself again. Let's get some sleep."

We both laid down on her bed and held each other close. I was free of the demons during the day now, but that night my dreams were filled with visions of Marik and Mariku holding my close.

 **Mariku POV**

Siegfried got away. The fight lasted thirty minutes. We captured the Western leaders Aknadin and Keith. The rest of the humans were killed. Marik was still burning the bodies and the men were tying up the prisoners. Timaeus approached me.

"My lord, I did as you asked. I followed them."

"And?"

"You were right. I did not see where he ran to. Forgive me, my lord."

"That is alright, Timaeus. Return to the palace immediately and see if you can find him. I want to have a word with him when we return. Also, get in touch with the Bakura and Akefia. We will need their assistance and they will want to be here when we take down Siegfried."

"Of course, my lord. What about your human?"

I looked at the prisoners and smiled cruelly.

"I have a feeling he will come to us. We have the key to the answers he needs."

 **The next update will be February 19** **th**

 **Please review! All criticism is greatly appreciated. It allows me to learn from my mistakes and make a better story.**


	10. The Night That Everything Changed

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.

 **Summary** : Sequel to All That I Have Left. Malik has always been a fighter. He has been fighting since he was five years old, after the murder of his mother. Conflicts between rebel groups have alerted the fire generals to their location. Now, a real war will begin as demons and humans clash on the battle field. MalikxMarikxMariku

 **Thank you:**

 **GirlFish** for the review and continued support. And things will only get uglier. You will get some answers. It is a lot like the witch trials.

 **DDLDarkHeartofWater** for the review and continued support. I like the ship name. I did some research and I didn't find anything else that was called plagueshipping. And thank you. I'm doing better. One day at a time.

 **Warnings: Blood and gore**

 **Chapter 10 – The Night That Everything Changed**

 **Malik POV**

I woke up the next morning before Ishizu did. She was laying on her side away from me. She had stayed in my bed all night and I was thankful for that. It would have felt weird sleeping alone after sleeping next to demons for so long. I had missed my sister dearly. We had slept like this many times after Mom had died.

I got out of bed and walked to a bucket filled with water in the corner. I scooped some up into my hands and rinsed off my face. The scouts my father sent out should have returned by now. Hopefully, we will be able to raid the area. For the first time in my life, I was afraid to leave the caves. I felt safe being near my family. I was afraid that if I left, I would see them again. And that I would want to return to them. But I needed to do this. I felt like I had something to prove to myself.

"Malik."

I turned around to find my sister sitting up in bed. She was rubbing her eyes tiredly. Her hair was full of tangles. I chuckled.

"I'm over here, sleepy head."

She yawned and got out of bed. She walked to hers and rummaged her bag. I went to mine to grab my spare clothes. I changed quickly when her back was turned and replaced my weapons on my belt. The knives Mariku and Marik had given me still lay in the corner forgotten.

"Why are you arming yourself? You aren't leaving."

"I want to try and help Ishizu."

"You're not leaving again."

I walked up to her.

"Then leave with me. Go with me to raid if we can."

"I was planning to go anyway. Father won't approve of you going though."

"I wasn't planning to tell him I was leaving. And how do you know he won't approve."

Ishizu smiled at me fondly. "There's my sarcastic brother. I missed you. But if I see you anywhere near the raiding party today. I will drag you back to these caves."

"Then I guess you won't see me."

"Why are you so desperate to return to them? Those demons. The ones that called your name in the village."

I flinched. "I'm not in a hurry to return to them now or ever."

"Then don't put yourself in a position in which you may be taken again."

She walked out of the room. I huffed and walked out of the room to follow her to the meeting. I don't want her to be mad at me now that I'm back. I wasn't even in a hurry to return to them, but I did have a nagging feeling. I missed the calming effect they had on me. I knew I had one on them too and that they would come to find me. They would stop at nothing to find me. Maybe I could return to them when this was all over. I touched my lips. I thought of how Marik had kissed me.

I ran to catch up with Ishizu. I grabbed her arm.

"What?" She growled.

"Listen. I need to do this. I need to figure out why I am drawn to them. Why that demon wants me. Who his boss is. I need to see this through to the end. Please don't be mad at me."

She sighed and hung her head.

"I know you do, but I was so worried when you left. You can come with us, if Dad allows it, but don't you dare leave my sight."

"Thanks, Ishizu." I hugged her tightly.

"I love you, my brother."

"Love you too, sister."

We walked into the meeting room to see that everyone else has gathered. My father was standing in front of the group and we walked to stand at his side. I was on his right, Ishizu on the right. He waited at minute before beginning to talk.

"Our scouts returned last night. They reported Aknadin and some of his men returning to their camp early this morning. There was no sign of the demons. This means that we need to raid now. We will be leaving at nightfall and we will be attacking as one group. I will be leading it along with my daughter, Ishizu, and my son. We will remain back to watch the surrounding. Should you not hear anything from us, return to outlook out point. We want this to be safe and successful as possible. Take the rest of the day to prepare."

My father always had a way to make the meetings short and to the point. Everyone filled out, leaving just Ishizu, my father, and I.

"I hope I made the right choice letting you go on this mission."

"I won't let you down."

"I know you won't." He touched my shoulder. "Rest and relax today until we leave. I need to go over the maps."

We left the room. Jou was waiting for us outside.

"I was thinking about going to get something to eat and then maybe to train some. Wanna join?"

"Of course."

We spent the next several hours talking and training. It felt like I had gone back in time, before any of this had happened. I felt a sense of security and love being back around the people I care about. Seto came to join us after a while. His red eyes made me think of Marik and Mariku, bringing me out of my current reality. We laughed, joked, and enjoyed each other's company. I smiled until my face hurt. Ishizu stayed close to me the whole time.

Soon it became time to leave, and we mounted our horses. I rode next to my father and sister. I had a strange sense of foreboding. I was worried. The sky was in a perfect sunset over the cliffs.

"When we arrive, as I said we will remain in the back to better judge the situation."

I nodded. Dad clapped me on the shoulder.

"Don't you worry my son. Once this is all over, we can return to our caves, and life will continue on as normal. Do you still wear the necklace?"

"You knew?" I asked shocked.

He chuckled. "Of course. I knew it gave you comfort, so I never spoke about it. I know you thought I was too hard on you growing up, but I want you to know that I acted that way because I love you and I was afraid to lose another loved one to the demons."

Warmth filled me. "Thank you, Father."

Ishizu snickered.

"This is so cute."

We both grumbled at her. As we neared the Western camp. I grew more uneasy. We stopped to tie up our horses, and sent the rest of our men ahead. We found a spot of high ground and watched. Before they were a half a mile from camp, I saw something move in the trees.

"There is something there. To the left."

"It could be a scout. Malik, go check it out."

I stood quickly and ran down the hill. I got close then ducked behind a tree for cover. It was a demon. At first I thought it may have been Marik's and Mariku's men. It wouldn't surprise me if they had someone tail Aknadin as he retreated. But then I looked on his arm. It had a pink band. I jumped out from behind the tree and pulled out a knife. I pushed the demon to the ground and held the knife to his neck.

"Where is Siegfried?"

He chuckled. "Little human, do you think I'm afraid of you."

"You should be." I pressed the knife closer to his neck and dark red blood flowed.

He laughed now. "He is up there. He was waiting for you, now that you were away from your demons and with your vulnerable family."

I twisted my head, and looked back to the hill. Siegfried was standing there with a hand around my sister's neck, holding her off the ground. My father was laying on the ground.

"No." This wasn't happening. This couldn't happen.

The demon took advantage of my shock and fear, and pushed me off. I bounced into a tree but recovered quickly. I swung my knife up and sliced him in half.

I got up and ran to the hill, breathing hard with fear still running through my system.

"Malik, so nice of you to make it." He set my sister down but kept a clawed hand around her neck. She was trying to fight back, but his claws dug lightly into his neck. He was holding my father down with a foot on his chest. He was pressing down to hard though, my father was wheezing.

"R..un, Ma..lik."

"Let them go."

Siegfried shook his head.

"I wouldn't have had to do this Malik. I already killed your mother. If you had just left with me at the Pass. Now I will have to kill the rest of your family."

"Don't please just don't"

I heard movement coming through the tree. Jou appeared with Seth by his side.

"Malik, we didn't hear anything- What is going on?"

I could see the rest of our soldiers behind him.

"Tell them to stay back or I will kill your family right now." Siegfried emphasized this by squeezing Ishizu tighter.

I turned to speak to the force. "Stay back. Remain in the trees."

They all nodded, but Jou and Seth remained close.

I faced Siegfried again.

"Please jus let them go. I will leave with you."

"I know you will. But I have to do this, to show you what happens when I am disobeyed."

He pushed his foot down harder on my father and he cried out. I heard a snap as a rib broke. He coughed and blood spattered from his mouth.

I fell to my knees.

"Please!"

Siegfried just laughed and slammed his foot down. His foot went clear through his chest cavity, blood spirting up the demon's leg. Tear filled my eyes, I couldn't even look at my father's face. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the open wound. The boned were showing where they pointed inward. I just got his approval. My sister was crying. Siegfried gently petted her head.

"It will be alright my dear. It will end soon. Say goodbye to your brother now."

She looked right at me and we both cried harder.

"I love you Malik. Live life like you want to."

"No, please, please don't! Please! Ishizu!"

Siegfried's claws quickly shredded her neck. He dropped her to the ground as she struggled to breathe through the blood now filling her throat.

I screamed and cried. I crawled back to her and held her hand. I watched the life leave her eyes. I felt numb. I knew tears were still falling down my face. Fingers touched under my chin, and lifted my face to look at the demon who now had murdered my entire family.

"Have you learned now? Or do you need one more example." He smiled down at Jou and Seth. Seth stepped in front of Jou and growled.

"No, no more. I learned." I whispered.

He caressed my cheek.

"I still some light in those eyes."

He stood up and reached for a knife at his waist. I had to stop this. I ran toward Seth and Jou. The knife was thrown and I only saw one way to save them. I jumped in front of the knife. Pain exploded in my back and I fell to the ground. The knife was lodged in my left shoulder blade. I screamed and panted as the pain filled me. Jou ran to me and fell to the ground next to me. He pulled the knife out of me. Seth ran to Siegfried and tackled him to the ground. They began to fight. Jou was talking to me but I couldn't hear him. Seth was pushed away and he fell down the hill landing in a crouch. I felt blood running down my back.

"Why did you jump in front Malik. This could have been much easier. Now I have to wait for you to heal. I will be waiting at the Aster Mountain. Come and find me there." He dissipated in a cloud of dust. Seth ran to us.

"We need to get him somewhere safe."

"The camp. There wasn't anyone there."

"There could be though, Jou. He is the leader of the Easterns now. We need to be careful."

"That is our only chance. If there are demons there, the generals you took him could be there too. They could save him. Or if there are Westerns there, we could bargain to save him."

"Fine." Seth snapped. He turned to the fighters in the trees. "Take the bodies back to the caves and burry them in the oasis. Do not return to this area and put the caves onto high alter when you return."

There were many "Yes sirs." And then they left.

Jou picked me up and we ran through the trees.

"I should carry him Jou."

"He's my friend. I will carry him."

We made it to the edge of the camp. My vision was blurry. I didn't feel any pain. I heard Jou yelling. Demons with smoke colored clothing emerging from the shadows. Two ran to us that I recognized. Along with my sister. I blink. That wasn't right. She was dead. I probably still have her blood on my hands. No, it was the demon healer who looks like her. Sadness overwhelmed me. She barked out orders and Mariku took me from Jou. They ran with me through their camp. I saw Aknadin and Keith in a cage along with some of their men. They brought me into a tent and laid me down on the bed face down. Isis placed her hands over the wound and shook her head. She spoke quickly and walked to the corner of the tent. Marik and Mariku flipped me over so I was face up and ripped open my shirt. I squirmed when it bothered my back to be against the bed. Mariku gently moved the necklace up my neck until it was right under my chin. Marik held me down and Mariku strapped my arms above my head. I struggled weakly. They were supposed to heal me, now I'm being teid up like a sacrifice. Isis leaned over me, her hands glowed and she tipped a bottle of bitter liquid into my mouth. I coughed. She continued to talk to Marik and Mariku. Marik sat on my legs to effectively hold me down. He looked at Isis and she nodded.

Marik kissed my forehead and whispered in my ear. I could hear him.

"This wasn't how we wanted to do this, but this is the only way to save you."

Mariku stood on my left side and kissed my cheek. Their kisses moved to my neck and they bit down. The burn began slowly but increased as their venom moved through my body.

 **The next update will be on March 4** **th**


	11. Grief

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.

 **Summary** : Sequel to All That I Have Left. Malik has always been a fighter. He has been fighting since he was five years old, after the murder of his mother. Conflicts between rebel groups have alerted the fire generals to their location. Now, a real war will begin as demons and humans clash on the battle field. MalikxMarikxMariku (Plagueshipping)

 **Thank you:**

 **GirlFish** for the review and continued support. They won't be getting away. Mana will be part of the story soon. The main baddy will show himself soon as well ;) I haven't thought a lot about Weevil and Rex I never really like them, but if I need some flunkies I will add them in. Thanks!

 **Malik**

 **Marik**

 **(Mariku)**

 **Chapter 11 – Grief**

 **Malik POV**

The burning started in my neck and then trailed to my chest. From there it went to the rest of my body. I screamed at Marik, who was still sitting on my legs to make the burning stop. I begged Isis to stop them. They looked at Isis concerned, but she nodded.

"I will keep him alive. Do what you need to do." She placed her hands on the front of the shoulder that was still injured. The hand glowed. It didn't lessen the burning.

"Marik get off him. I need access to his chest." Marik climbed off of me and tied my legs down.

Mariku leaned over me and his claws extended. He dug them into my chest and sliced down toward my belly button. I couldn't feel the cut. The burn became harsher as he cut into me. He cut into a 'X' into my chest and then pealed back the skin. **(Not anatomically correct)**. My vision was blurring at this point. I felt nauseous as Mariku grabbed onto my ribs and I felt a tug and something gave way. My eyes fluttered. I felt a few soft taps on my face. I must have zoned out for a few minutes. Marik was on my side and he had been the one to hit me.

"mm dizzy. Hurts." My throat was scratchy.

"I know. It will be over soon. Just stay awake."

I deepened my breathing, hoping to lessen my pain if I got more oxygen. It only made me feel dizzier.

"Marik, I'm almost ready over here."

Marik sent a hand through my hair and then went to join Mariku as they stood over my chest. They held their hands over the open cavity and flames danced on their hands. A blue glow emanated from my chest. The flames left their hands and went right for the glow like they were drawn to it. As soon as the flames hit it, the pain reached its peak. My back arched off the bed as I felt myself being pulled upwards with the light. If I hadn't been tied down, I would have been pulled off the bed. I screamed. It felt like a cord was being ripped in half. I continued to scream until the invisible cord broke and a piece of the light broke off. I fell back to the bed panting and the light left in my chest receded. The light that had broken off, broke again into two pieces and went into both their hands. The flames disappeared. Marik held his head and chest. Mariku started off into space. Their eyes were glowing brighter than I had ever seen them.

My head lulled to the side. The entire room was spinning. Isis jumped up and placed her hands over my chest.

"Stop spacing out. He needs blood. The wound on his back has stopped bleeding, but I need to heal this before his shoulder."

"I'll do it. Untie him Marik." Mariku got up and leaned down by my head. He bit his wrist and brought it to my mouth. I didn't want his blood. I didn't want to drink the blood at all.

"Malik, you need this or you will die. I'm not going to let that happen. Drink."

I opened my mouth and it filled quickly with his blood. I swallowed and tasted the harsh metallic in my mouth. He made me swallow a few more times before he pulled his wrist away. During the time I had been drinking, Marik had been untying me. He brought my arms to my side when I was done drinking. Mariku let my head return to the side. Isis was still working on my chest.

"You can put him to sleep now. He needs the rest. I need to finish healing him and the wound on his back needs cauterized. I will heal it later when I regain some strength."

"He will live right?" Marik asked.

"I usually do not like to put humans through the ritual when they are injured. It was close for a few minutes. I was afraid we would lose him. He's tough and strong. He may be weaker than normal for a human after a ritual but he will live."

Mariku kissed me and ran his hand through my hair. Marik kissed me too.

"We will see you when you wake up, Malik."

I sank down into a cloud.

"When will he wake up?"

"Let him wake up in his own time, Marik."

I felt almost too warm, but I was comfortable. I could feel both Mariku and Marik holding me close. I was still lying on my back and they were lying on top of me. I couldn't feel any pain, but I couldn't move either. I felt trapped. I struggled to move but the only thing I could do was twitch my fingers. A moan slipped from my mouth.

 **Malik. Are you waking up?**

I opened my mouth to speak but I could barely open it and only air came out. I wanted to respond to him. His voice had sounded like an echo.

 **(Just think what you want us to hear. We can hear your thoughts.)**

I wasn't too surprised about this. Yugi had told me that I would be able to do this after the ritual when he explained this to me.

 **Is it over?**

 **Yes, it's over. It will take about a week to regain your strength.**

I could understand that. I could barely move.

 **Siegfried is at Aster mountain.** **He has another human there.** **He killed my whole family.** I felt numb when I mentioned them.

Mariku growled.

 **(We will deal with him.)**

 **I deserve revenge as well.**

 **We know you do. We won't leave you behind.**

 **(I have some broth here, if you are hungry. Marik go tell Isis and those two Eastern rebels that Malik is awake.)**

Marik whined about leaving but left the tent anyway.

 **Jou and Seth are here?**

 **(They brought you.)**

 **You haven't caged them have you.**

Mariku chuckled. **(No we haven't. That demon, Seth, is a tough one.)**

Mariku got up and picked up a cup from the side of the tent. He came back over to me and leaned me against him. He lifted the cups to my lips and I tasted bland broth. It only took me a few minutes to finish off the cup of broth. By the time I was done, I was exhausted. Mariku laid me back onto the bed and pulled the blankets back over me.

 **Why am I so tired now? I was just leaning against you.**

 **(It will be better tomorrow. In three days, you may even be able to walk.)**

I blinked at him.

 **(I'm going to go and talk with Marik. We will be back soon. Just sleep.)**

I sank into oblivion again.

For the next five days, I felt incredibly spoiled. But the more I healed, the more the depression of losing my family hit me. I sometimes only talked when I was asked a direct question. Mariku and Marik didn't mind. I was able to move my hands and feet on the second day. On the third I was able to push myself up in bed. On the fourth day, Marik had to help me, but I was able to walk a few feet within the tent. I was also able to talk with a slight rasp to my voice. Jou and Seth came to talk to me. They explained that I was now the leader of the Eastern. I didn't want to be the leader.

I woke up on the fifth day to both Mariku and Marik talking over me. I pushed myself up and leaned against the back of the bed.

"What is going on?"

They turned to look at me and sat down on the bed.

"Aknadin wants to talk to you. He asked that you be alone."

I nodded. I expected that this would happen.

"I will talk with him."

Marik nodded. "We expected you would say that. We have some clothes and food for you. You will need to eat before you go."

I nodded. Mariku brought over some strips of dried meet and apple slices. I was able to eat regular foods on the third day when I could move my mouth to chew.

When I finished eating, Marik helped me stand and they helped change my clothes. They put my boots on me too. The knives were inside them.

"You may need your knives. If he makes any move to attack you, you get him first."

"Will do."

Marik went to pick me up but I stopped him.

"I want to be walking when he sees me."

"Alright. But if you start to feel dizzy, tell us."

"I will."

Mariku walked to the tent flap and pushed it aside so we could exit. Marik stayed close to my side so he could catch me if I started to fall. I couldn't walk fast and I wobbled occasionally. It was still early in the morning so hardly anyone was out of their tents. Only the demons on watch were walking around. They walked me over to the cage where Aknadin and Keith were tied to the side. Mariku unlocked the door to the cage and Marik walked with me inside. He sat me close to the entrance of the cage. When I was comfortable, he walked over to the other two humans.

"If you hurt him in any way, you will die a slow and painful death."

The humans looked grim.

"We are going to die anyway." Keith grimaced.

"Well then. I guess you would like it to be quick then. So don't do anything to our human."

Marik walked out and locked the gate behind him. I turned to look at the other two humans.

"So what do you want? Why did you do it?"

"Simply that I wanted to kill your family. Your father and I used to be friends a long time ago. When your father refused to advance on the castle when they were week, 20 years ago, our groups split. That would have been our chance to destroy the palace, but he was afraid. He said that it would send us all to our deaths. He took the people loyal to him into the mountains. I took mine to the palace gates. So many of my men died that day. It could have been all over that day if we worked together, the demons within the palace were busy fighting each other. The King and Queen had left with their generals. If we had worked together, we would have won that day. Your father deserved to die at the hand of a demon. He was a coward"

"My father is not a coward."

"Was, boy. He was a coward. I believe that demon killed him and your sister last night. He said he couldn't kill you though. He had a contract with another demon to keep you alive and return you to him. It doesn't matter to me though, I got my wish in the end." Aknadin laughed darkly.

I sneered at him.

"The only reason I will be going there now, is for revenge. I will avenge my mother, father, and sister. No one will stop me. Not you, not Mariku and Marik, none of your men."

Aknadin laughed tiredly.

"I have no men anymore. Just the few that stayed with me. They disapproved of me bargaining with a demon. The leader is Mai Valentine now."

"Good. You deserve to be abandoned. I'm going to enjoy watching you die. Marik! Mariku! I'm done in here."

I stood and Mariku ran over to open the door. I walked out to join him. I turned around to look at Aknadin one last time.

"I'm going to get a wish too. You will be dying by a demon's hand as well."

I walked back to our tent. I wanted to be alone for a while.

Marik held the flap of the tent back for me. I sat on the edge of the bed when I got inside. I placed my head in my hands. Marik sat down next to me. Mariku was sitting in front of me.

"I want him dead."

"When?" Mariku asked seriously.

"Now. I just want him gone. I need him to be gone."

"How?"

"I don't care. He's the reason Siegfried found them. Found me again. I just want him gone."

Mariku nodded to Marik, who pulled me close to his side. Mariku left the tent.

"He will kill them. Do you want to lay down?"

"No." I started to shake. "I just want this over."

Marik held me tightly.

"You need to grieve Malik. You have hardly cried or spoken about your family. Just let it all go. It weighing you down. Hurting you. You need to say it."

"I don't want to. I can't yet. Not until he's gone. I need to be strong until then. Then I can be sad."

"No one will see you here. Let it all go Malik." Marik rubbed my back.

My eyes began to water and my throat burned and I hiccupped. The tears started slowly, but as soon as they started, I couldn't stop them. Mariku came back eventually and held me just as tight as Marik. He was right I needed to talk. About everything. I needed to share what was weighing me down. I reached up and held my necklace tightly. I only have these demons left.

"This… This necklace was my mothers. She died when I was five."

That was the night I clung to Mariku and Marik as tightly as they had first clung to me. Because I now needed their strength to feel alive again. I told them everything that night.

 **The next update will be on March 11** **th**

 **Edit March 10th- the next update may be out this weekend instead. I haven't started writing the next chapter yet. It has been a busy week.**

 **I know this came out late in the day. I was very conflicted about this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!**


	12. To The Mountain

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.

 **Summary** : Sequel to All That I Have Left. Malik has always been a fighter. He has been fighting since he was five years old, after the murder of his mother. Conflicts between rebel groups have alerted the fire generals to their location. Now, a real war will begin as demons and humans clash on the battle field. MalikxMarikxMariku (Plagueshipping)

 **Thank you:**

 **Sonicgen52** for the review and continued support. Thanks for your understanding!

 **Slinking Fox** for the review and continued support. Thanks for sticking with me during my break!

 **AyaseFanGirl** for following

 **AnimeXloverXhater** for following

 **GirlFish** for the review and continued support. I'm not sure if I should make Mai a demon or a human. Yeah Pegasus was dead, I made a typo.

 **Malik**

 **Marik**

 **(Mariku)**

 **Chapter 12 – To The Mountain**

 **Malik POV**

Last night, I slept soundly for the first time in a week. They held me tightly. When I woke up in the morning, I still felt the care that they gave me last night. I woke up feeling stronger in the morning too. I was awake for a while before I felt Marik stirring in front of me. He opened his eyes to see that I was awake.

"Are you feeling better this morning?"

"Yes. I want to go and train today. I need to get back into practice."

Mariku had woken up at this point.

"Are you sure you feel up to that, Malik?"

"I won't train hard. I want to be ready to fight when we leave to go to the mountain."

Mariku nodded into my shoulder.

"You're going to do it anyway. Even if I tell you no. Marik will train with you. I need to meet with the other generals. We will be leaving in three days. It will take a day to travel to the mountain. But before you train, you need to eat."

I nodded and sat up. Marik went over to the corner of the tent with food. He rifled through the bags, until he found some meat and some fruit. He sat them down in front of me and I ate slowly. Marik left the bed to change his clothes. I kept my eyes on the bed.

 **I was hoping you would want to watch Malik.**

I chuckled. **You both are handsome, but I'm not about to watch you change.**

Mariku laughed for the corner of the tent.

"He's a tough one, Marik. You're going to have to wear him down, if you want his attention."

"You may not get it even then." I said as I continued to eat.

I felt something grab my shoulders and they shoved me down onto the bed. I felt weight fall on top of me. I looked up to see Marik sitting on my chest.

"If I want your attention, I will have it." He leaned down and kissed me hard. He continued kissing me until I needed to pull away to breathe. I panted looking up at him. He smiled at Mariku who was watching us. His eyes were glowing red.

"See, I have his attention now."

Mariku laughed. "Yes you do. Now let him finish eating. He is right. He needs to train. I will see you both at lunch."

Mariku walked out of the tent. Marik smiled and leaned down to whisper close to my ear.

"We could just continue to stay here you know."

 **(Marik.)**

 **Alright, Alright. Let's go train Malik.**

I smiled at them talking. I got up and walked to the side of the room where I knew I had a change of clothes. I pulled off my shirt forgetting that Marik was in the room. He was staring at me with glowing eyes.

"Stop staring or leave the tent."

"Aww come on Malik."

"Just leave."

He got up to leave. "I'll meet you outside. That human and demon would like to see you today."

"Okay. I'll be outside in a minute."

I finished changing and found my knives and boots close to where my change of clothes was. I put on my knives and my boots. I walked out of the tent to see Jou and Seth standing near him.

"Malik!" Jou ran forward to greet me.

"Hey." I hugged him.

"I'm glad to see that you are feeling better."

"Me too."

"So you are going to train today? Do you want to train with me? We need to talk."

I nodded. "I know we do and I would like to train with you."

Jou grabbed my arm and pulled me to a clearing without any demons around. Seth and Marik followed us though.

"Are they friends?" I whispered to Jou.

"No, but since you are now bound to them, he felt he needed to play nice. You are the leader of the Easterns now."

"I can't be leader. Now that I am tied to them. What are we supposed to do, work together with demons?"

Jou looked over at Seth. "We already do, Malik. There is something darker stirring in this world. We need all the help we can get. The other soldiers are looking to Seth for guidance, even though he is a demon."

I looked down. "It's different at the palace. The humans there… they are treated like animals."

Jou pulled out his sword. "Maybe you can change that. Show them that humans are tough. You're going to be with those two generals all the time now, according to Seth. You are going to continue to fight."

"That might be harder than you think." I unsheathed my knives.

"All you can do is try." He jumped toward me and raised his sword.

I blocked the blow with my left knife. Jou wasn't holding back. My arm wobbled slightly. I twisted and jabbed with my right knife. He moved back out of the way and slashed his sword at my stomach. He missed when I jumped back. I landed and my right ankle shook. After a while, it was easier to fight. We continued fighting this way for thirty minutes until I was sweating and shaking. Jou was about to slash at me again, but I was shaking so badly I couldn't move.

"Jou stop!"

"Malik!"

Arms grabbed my waist and pulled me back. I hung limply from Marik's arm around my waist. Seth had grabbed Jou's arm, who was looking at me in shock. I was panting, my knives dropped to the ground.

"Malik, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

Marik spoke for me. "He's fine. He pushed himself too hard and was too stubborn to admit that he had. I'm going to take him back to lay down. We will see you at dinner."

"Okay," Jou said uncertainly, "See you then Malik. I'm sorry."

"It's fine Jou. I'm just not that tough at the moment." I panted.

Marik picked me up and he took me back to our tent. Once there, he laid me down on the bed and then went a crossed the tent to get a glass of water. He gave that to me slowly. I was glad I was at least able to hold my head up.

"I think that I want to nap for a bit." I said yawning. "Do think I will be able to fight again by the time we reach the mountain?"

"I think you will. At least with Marik and I at your side."

"Why are you both okay with me fighting?"

"We know that this is a part of you. We couldn't take that away."

"Good. Glad to know you're not interested in changing me."

"Not in that way. Get some rest. We try to train again later."

I nodded and curled up into the pillow.

The next two days passed quickly. I trained every day. It wasn't until the day before we were planning to leave that I felt even close to my original speed while fighting. I felt stronger too. The tents were all packed and loaded. I was standing next to my horse waiting to leave. My knives were tied to the saddle. I turned to watch Mariku and Marik talking to two white haired demons. Mariku told me that their names were Bakura and Akefia. They had lost their bonded human when I had died almost twenty years ago. I had also been told to never approach them without my demons with me.

I smiled. My demons. I had been calling them that lately in my thoughts. They kiss me every night before bed and oddly enough, I have begun to enjoy those moments. I have begun to enjoy the feeling of trusting others. It was still hard at times when I think about my family. But if I remain focused on what I needed to do, it wouldn't hurt as much in the moment.

"Are you ready to go, Malik?"

Marik was standing behind me.

"Huh, yeah. I'm ready to go."

"Up you get." Marik grabbed me around the waist and lifted me onto the horse. Mariku had already gotten on one next to mine.

"I guess I was spacing out." Marik got on the horse behind me. "Don't you have your own horse."

"I do, but it will be more fun to ride with you."

"Your just worried that I would fall off. How long is the ride?"

"A day. We will attack in the early morning." Mariku said.

I nodded. "Sounds like fun."

We began to ride out. The ride was peaceful and the environment was stunning. Ishizu would have loved seeing this. We never traveled out this far before. Jou and Seto had returned to our group of rebels earlier this morning.

"I will return to the rebels and we will meet you at the mountain tomorrow for the raid. You will be in command then." Seto had told me.

I didn't want to be in charge but he left right after telling me. I also wondered what the humans of the Eastern rebels would think about working with Imperial Demons. Things needed to change between the relationships of humans and demons. Humans needed to be treated fairly. It didn't make sense that the King and Queen could be so nice to their human but can't help any humans within their city.

 **(We know that too. They want to change their city, but they need something to happen to that they could put the change into effect.)**

 **You heard me? Could the rebels helping to bring down a demon that the palace had been searching for be that change?**

 **It very well could. And you were thinking too loud.**

 **Well then we need to make a good impression.**

My demons chuckled.

Not only did I need to lead the rebels in this battle, I needed to prove that humans were just as strong as demons. We weren't as strong physically but we were stronger mentally. We had a stronger will to live than demons did. That made us do crazy things because we will do whatever we need to do, to survive. And I wanted to survive.

"How much longer is the ride? I'm ready to kill Siegfried."

"Another six hours. We will not be stopping to eat, so if you are hungry, just say something."Marik grumbled into my ear.

"I'm not hungry yet."

"Just say something when you are." Mariku said.

We rode in silence for several hours before the sun began to set. We were going to camp at the base of the mountain. The fortress was located on the side. There were several tunnels within the mountain that led to the fortress. We made it to the clearing we were going to camp in an hour later. We weren't alone. In the clearing was fifty or so humans with a blond woman in front of the group that I recognized.

"Mai."

"Hello, Malik. We have something to discuss."

 **The next update is April 8** **th**


	13. Darkness

**This is going to be a long chapter. Just far warning. I felt I owed it to you all because I was gone for so long. I am out of college now so I should be updating more frequently. Enjoy the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.

 **Summary** : Sequel to All That I Have Left. Malik has always been a fighter. He has been fighting since he was five years old, after the murder of his mother. Conflicts between rebel groups have alerted the fire generals to their location. Now, a real war will begin as demons and humans clash on the battle field. MalikxMarikxMariku (Plagueshipping)

 **Thank you:**

 **Flaminghellcat** for following and favoriting

 **Bakurastheifprincess** for the review and support. Thank you for your understanding. I'm glad to hear that you enjoy the story enough to read it over again. Thank you!

 **Lorelei Jacques** for favoriting and also for the review. I will be doing one for Ryou. It should be coming out mid-summer or sooner.

 **BrittanyWilton** for favoriting

 **KisaraTheDragonCharm** for favoriting and following

Shadow Dragon-Wolf Queen for favoriting and following

 **DDLDarkHeartofWater** for the review and support. I'm sorry! I'm back now…

 **GirlFish** for the review and support. Thank you for the idea about Mai. I was conflicted about what to make her but you gave me the brilliant idea about a hybrid. Thanks! I hadn't had many plans to give her a lover but if you think I should add one I would. She is going to have a bigger role in the next story. I can make sure that Jou and her meet.

 **I want to thank everyone for sticking with me during this break! Hopefully I have everyone I got reviews and notifications for above. I'm worried I may be missing some. If I am, I'm sorry. Just message me and yell at me for missing you**

 **Malik**

 **Marik**

 **(Mariku)**

 **Chapter 13 – Darkness**

 **Malik POV**

It always amazes me how fast soldiers can put up a tent. I could never manage to put up a tent. But sure enough in a few minutes, a large tent had been built so I could talk with Mai. She looked the same as I remembered her. Wild blond hair, stocky build, bright green eyes, and long nails. Mai wasn't exactly human. She was half human, but the other half was demon. Aknadin was never very fond of her because of that. Very few people knew her heritage. I looked at the warriors that she brought with her. Almost the western rebels were there. When the Eastern rebels were here to combine our forces, along with the demons we would have a formidable force.

Mai walked into the tent entrance and motioned for me to follow. I followed her in along with Marik and Mariku.

"I can see a lot has changed with you since the last time I saw you. Your bonded and now you're a leader. I heard about what has happened with your family. I am glad to see you have not allowed that to cripple you. Instead you have channeled it into something useful."

I nodded. She sat down on the ground in the center of the tent. She pointed at the ground in front of her and I sat as well.

"We heard you were on your way to Aster Mountain. I assume that the Eastern rebels are also going to the mountain. I can see the Imperial demon army with you. We also want to raid the mountain. I want to put our pasts behind us. That demon in the mountain. He killed all who would not back Aknadin's alliance with him." Mai told me.

"I am sorry to hear about the loss of some of your men and women. It would be welcome to have the extra warriors."

"Good to hear. But there is something else you should know. There are three other demons in the mountain. A female and a male with black hair. There sadistic and terrifying. But those two have nothing on the other demon there. That demons… he has no body. He is shadow, darkness. He runs the show."

This caught Marik and Mariku's attention.

"Do you know his name?" Mariku asked.

"No. I never met him. I only saw him once when I went with Aknadin to the mountain as his protection. I do know a way into the mountain that will lead directly to Siegfried. I know that is where you want to be during the battle."

"Yeah that is where we want to be. A frontal assault on the mountain against their armies should cause enough distraction. How many men do they have?" Marik asked.

"A little more than 100 foot soldiers. Around 20 special soldiers. Siegfried, and the other three demons I have told you about."

"So they will be outnumbered?" I said.

"Outnumbered by the should not be underestimated." Mai smiled.

"Understood."

Mai stood back up. "We should get a move on then. We need to be at the mountain by midnight, so we can raid it by dawn."

"Yeah." I stood back up and we walked out of the tent. It only took a few of the soldiers to break down the tent again. I walked to my horse and pulled myself on. Marik and Mariku on their horses next to me.

Mai went to address the western rebels.

"Time to ride out. We move to the mountain."

They saddled up and we rode out.

"Are your soldiers going to be okay with working with human?" I asked my demons.

"They are going to be okay with anything we tell them to do." Mariku said smirking.

Marik looked at him sideways. "They know that things need to change. This is just the first of many steps. With the ways things are changing. We all need to look at the world from a different view."

I agreed with that. Things do need to change.

"I take it when we get to the mountain, you two will be coming with me when I go through the back door?"

"Yes." Marik answered.

"I'm killing Siegfried. He's mine."

"We know. But someone has to watch your back. And we don't want anyone to be looking at your back but us." Mariku said, staring at me with dark eyes.

I blushed and shivered.

"I don't think I want you two watching my back."

Marik smiled at me. "Oh, and why is that?"

"I think you two have other intentions."

They both started laughing they almost fell off their horses. We rode for hours keeping a conversation about small and insignificant things. It was peaceful. The sun was setting on the horizon when my demons went silent and stared at the sunset. The sunset was orange and purple. It was beautiful. My demons didn't seem to think that though. They were staring at the sunset sadly. I didn't ask why. I hoped that they would talk to me when they chose to.

They remained silent for the longest time. We just rode on and I couldn't take the silence.

 **Are you both okay?**

Marik looked down at the saddle. Mariku reached over and snagged my reins and nodded to Marik. He lifted me from the saddle with ease. He sat me down sideways in front of him. Luckily we were toward the back of the force, so not many saw me.

 **What is it?** I asked more forcefully this time.

 **We used to hate sunsets. We hated the color. Hated the beauty that came from the end of something. But we loathed them because you used to love them. You used to sit on the windowsill in our room and watch the sunset every day. We were always amazed that the sunset would always be the color of your eyes. Seeing the sunset now reminds us of what used to be. We won't ever be that way again.**

I didn't know how to respond to that. But it did make me think of a question.

 **How long did you know me before?**

 **(** **About three weeks** **.)**

 **Three weeks? I thought it was longer.**

Marik smiled sadly. **Yeah three weeks. It only took us three weeks to fall in love with you.**

 **What about now?**

 **(We never stopped loving you.)**

That took every thought from my mind. I figured that they loved me. They certainly acted like they did. But they had never said it out loud. Marik pulled me tighter to his chest.

 **You don't have to respond to that. Just don't leave us again. We want love the sunset again.**

When I had asked earlier about the sunset, I hadn't thought the conversation was going to turn this way. I realized that they had gone through something that I had gone through. They lost someone they loved to violence. Only I came back. My family never would come back. But if they did, I would have acted the same way my demons had. I would have been less forceful about it, though.

 **I want to be able to answer it one day.**

They both smiled at me and I closed my eyes, embarrassed. The sun had set now and it was getting dark. I wish that I was back on my horse. I could fall asleep in Marik's arms. I had to appear strong because the army with us.

"Can I go back to my horse?"

Marik looked at me knowingly. I knew that I wouldn't be getting back on my horse tonight. I suppose I will be sleeping here. Marik pulled me tighter to his chest. I resigned myself to sleeping in this position.

"At least wake me up when we make camp."

A hand ruffled through my hair.

"Of course."

I woke up when I was lifted off the horse. Mariku had taken me away for Marik. The tents had already been set up. The western rebels had set up camp away from the imperial demon army. Marik was walking behind us toward our tent.

"I can walk."

"Just let me carry you tonight." Mariku told me.

"But everyone will see me as week." I mumbled into his chest.

"If anyone were to even think that, we will burn them alive." Marik said.

They brought me into a tent that was the same one we stayed in at the Western's camp. Mariku set me on the bed and removed my boots and knives. I pulled my knees up to my chest and curled up tightly in a ball. I knew that they would lay down too soon. They unstrapped their weapons and Marik fell down in front of me. I bounced on the bed. Mariku laid down more smoothly so I wasn't moved again.

"How close are we to the mountain?" I asked.

"We are in a valley that is to the south of the mountain. The side of the main entrance. We are three hours away." Mariku said into the back of my hair.

"We will be leaving early in the morning. We won't be getting much sleep tonight." Marik said.

"I think I will be okay with that."

"Back to sleep now, Malik." Mariku whispered.

"Time to get up, Malik."

I rolled over toward Mariku's voice.

"Alright. I'm up."

I got out of bed and reached for a change of clothes that had been left out for me. I turned to look at Mariku before I began to change.

"Well go on." Mariku smiled at me. He leaned back against a post.

He was challenging me and I knew that. I would accept that challenge. I reached down and pulled my shirt off. I put on a smoke colored one quickly after. Then I needed to take off my pants. My hands began to shake. An arm snaked around my shoulders and twister my head to look at Mariku. He kissed me deeply.

"I would never put you in this kind of a position. The Eastern rebels arrived half an hour ago. When you are ready come outside, there is food in the bag over there."

He kissed me again and then left the tent. I smiled and changed my pant and pulled on my boots. I belted my knives to my waist and walked to the bag. I picked out a few strips of dried meat and an apple. I finished eating quickly. When I left the tent, I threw apple core out into the distance. The sun would be rising soon. The skyline was beginning to lighten. Today was the day.

I could see my demons standing next to the white haired demons, Akefia and Bakura. Akefia was speak to Mariku and Marik waved me over. Bakura was staring off at the mountain. He looked confused. It was different from the malicious expression that I often see him wear.

I walked to Marik and he pulled me tight to his side.

"Are you ready to leave? We will be riding alone to the secret entrance."

"Yeah. I am."

Marik nodded and pulled me over to our horses. There were three so at least I would be able to ride by myself today. Mai walked up to us right before we were ready to leave. She stood next to my horse with her hands on her hips.

"I assume that Seto and the Eastern soldiers are on their way. I will meet them and explain the situation when they arrive at the mountain. I will make sure that they know where their leader is at."

I rubbed the back of my head. I had forgotten about them and that they would probably like to talk to other humans instead of demons when they arrive.

"Thank you for doing that. Seto will be in charge until… I don't know what will happen after all this."

Mai nodded, looking at my demons who were staring at the horizon. They were ignoring us.

"You should be leaving. Good luck." Mai told us and walked off.

"Good luck to you too." I told her.

She walked back to her horse but was stopped by Akefia and Bakura. They would be working together in this and it was nice to see that the demon generals were not biased about working with humans. However, the demons seemed to be acting strangely. Bakura was shaking and Akefia's eye was twitching.

"We need to go Malik. We need to travel for one more hour." Mariku told me.

I nodded and followed them into the trees.

"Are Akefia and Bakura alright? They seemed to be upset or just irritated about something."

Marik looked back at them before the clearing disappeared into the trees. He frowned when looking at them.

"They are acting different but, it could also be a side effect from losing Ryou."

I remembered what Yugi had told me before, about how there were three of us.

"I assume you have been told who he was." Mariku asked as we sped up our horses.

I nodded. "Yugi told me that he was their true bond."

"He was. They found him four years before you and Yugi had met him."

"Did he also die in the caves?"

They stared at the tree line for a long time. Marik finally broke the silence.

"We didn't know Yugi had told you that, but yes. He was there. He died from a head wound."

"If those demons that kidnapped us back then were after Yugi, why take us? Why were we the only ones to die?"

"They wanted Yugi to suffer and he did. They raped him and left him in the dark. This was after you both had died."

"They raped him?!"

"They did. They didn't care what happened to you and Ryou. They let two soldiers attack you and kill you." Marik growled. His hands tightening on the reins.

"But they are both dead now right." I said looking forward. We were close to the mountain now. I could see a path up to a cave. That was where we were heading.

"Yeah. They are dead. We made sure of that ourselves." Mariku told me.

"Good. Is Yugi okay?"

"Yami and Atem helped him."

At least he suffered no lasting effects from it. We rode in silence the rest of the way. When we reached the foot of the mountain, we tied up our horses and began to climb the path. Mariku was in front and Marik behind me. This left me in the middle. Part of the path had stairs, but some of it was covered in large rocks that had fallen.

The sun was beginning to rise when we finally reached the cave opening. The cave gave me chills. No light seemed to enter the cave. It was as if, the darkness swallowed all the light of the day. I stood close to the entrance to see how far I can see down the tunnel. It felt as if it were watching me. The darkness crept closer to me and I stepped back into Marik. He placed his hands on my shoulders.

"Are you alright, Malik?"

"Yeah…" I told him, still warry of the tunnel.

Mariku tilted his head to the side.

"The battle is beginning. We need to enter the mountain now, if we want the element of surprise."

I nodded and we entered the darkness.

 **So I don't know when I will update next but there won't be a long break again. As always, if anyone sees mistakes that I didn't catch please tell me, Thank you!**


	14. What Was Lost

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.

 **Summary** : Sequel to All That I Have Left. Malik has always been a fighter. He has been fighting since he was five years old, after the murder of his mother. Conflicts between rebel groups have alerted the fire generals to their location. Now, a real war will begin as demons and humans clash on the battle field. MalikxMarikxMariku (Plagueshipping)

 **Thank you:**

 **All the Favorites and the Follows. I lost track during the break. If you know you did and PM me and I will add you. But thank you all!**

 **Klagana1** for the review. I'm glad you have enjoyed the stories and I hope you like the rest. I'm sorry about the long break. Thank you for sticking with me!

 **DDLDarkHeartofWater** for the review. Sorry about the wait. Hope you enjoy this chapter too! I like this one a lot when I was writing it.

 **GirlFish** for the review. I might do a one shot for Mai eventually if enough people want it. I think her story might be interesting and you gave me a few ideas that I want to play around with so Thanks. She's pretty tough to have survived this long but that's what makes her a great leader.

 **Bakurastheifprincess** for the review. Thank you for being understanding about my absence. But I still feel bad that it was too long. I shouldn't have waited this long to update.

 **Here I was thinking that once I was out of college I would be updating more frequently and I have only updated once since college ended and now I have already started my Junior year a few weeks ago. Well… shoot. My internship went well, for those who care. I thought about this story a lot while I was working and I have a good plan on how I want to end the series. There are only a few chapters left in this one and I am going to force myself to stick to update times. They helped me manage my time in college last year and gave me a way to relax. There will only be a week break between the end of this story and the last one in the series, which is Ryou's story. I am still going to make a one-shot for Jaden and Yusei. I'm going to Saturday updates now. And they will be updated them! I swear.**

 **Malik**

 **Marik**

 **(Mariku)**

 **Chapter 14 – What was Lost**

 **Malik POV**

It felt as though the walls were watching me. The worst part was the fact that at many different times, I thought I saw red eyes and the darkness seemed to move around me. The darkness in the tunnel was so thick I couldn't even see Marik and Mariku next to me. At least I could feel that they were there. They had me corralled in between them as we walked down the tunnel. I could see sparks in front of me from what I assumed was Mariku's hand but there was no way to be sure. But since I couldn't see where I was going I tripped and fell into Mariku's back. Marik reached forward too steady me.

 **There was a rock there Malik.**

 **Well I couldn't see it. I don't have demon vision like you two. I'm a human.**

 **(What are you talking about Malik? The entire tunnel is lit up.)**

 **Not for me. It's completely dark.**

I felt Marik tense behind me.

 **(Another demon.)**

 **Has to be. But it would have to be a powerful one. This can't be Siegfried.**

 **(What should we do?)**

 **We need to continue. Hopefully we only find the fiend we are looking for.**

We continue to walk on. Marik was telling me when there were objects in my path but I was increasingly becoming annoyed and frustrated, when even after being told what was near me, I still continued to trip. I wanted to be able to find Siegfried myself, not have to be lead to his location. But instead I had to stumble along, avoiding to step on rocks and cracks. I hate caves. I hate this darkness.

 **There is an opening ahead. There's light.**

The sparks on Mariku's hands went out and I placed my hands on my knives and readied myself for a fight. This was it. I had to be the one to do it. Marik pulled me to his side as I assumed we entered the room. It felt less enclosed in this area. It was silent for a second, before a voice spoke out.

"I'm happy you were able to make it, dear Malik. I was afraid I had killed you."

Mariku and Mariku stepped in front of me.

"Show yourself, coward." I growled.

I heard a chuckle run through the darkness.

"Oh. No wonder you seemed lost. I'm in front of you dear Malik. It seems my master already knows you are here. Unfortunately, I cannot take away the darkness. Only he can and he would like to meet you. He has a special place just for you."

"He's not going anywhere without us." Marik growled and he backed up closer to me.

"I am afraid that is not how this works. There is someone who has been waiting a long time to meet him. And he has an old friend of his." Siegfried sneered and waved his hand.

The floor underneath me disappeared and I jumped forward to stop myself from falling but it was too late. Mariku turned to face me and he screamed my name. It was too late. I fell into the darkness.

 **Marik POV**

The second that Malik disappeared into the floor, I ran at Siegfried and attacked him. Fire blazed around the room from our anger. My eyesight turned red with anger. This was too much like last time. Malik trapped in some unknown part of a cave with another demon that wanted to use him. The flames made it to Siegfried before my sword did and lit the area around him ablaze. He had pulled out his own sword to block my attack and a large gust of wind set my fire back at me. I was thrown into the wall.

Mariku had run up behind him and made a jab at his back. He missed when Siegfried sides stepped. I raised my hands and drew on the power from our newly created bond and a giant snake made from fire erupted and encircled Siegfried. Wind whipped around the room but he was not strong enough to destroy the snake, especially not with the extra power coming from Mariku. Now that Siegfried was subdued, we walked up to him. Mariku grabbed him by the neck and growled.

"What have you done with Malik?"

Siegfried gasped as the intensity of the fire increased and began to burn his skin.

"He went to meet the master. Who has been waiting a long time to meet him."

I grabbed onto his arms and dug my claws into his flesh to rip through his skin.

"Who is your master?"

Siegfried laughed breathily.

"He is someone more powerful that you and I. Even the King and Queen."

"Why does he need Malik then?" Mariku asked.

"He was cursed by the Demon Witch and cannot regain his body. His consciousness remains in the shadows. The Witch created three stars that lock him in this ethereal form. But he will be free of it soon. He only needs one more now."

I narrowed my eyes.

"No. We will rescue Malik and the other _star_ he supposedly has. His plan will not succeed and you will die."

"What are you going to kill me now?" Siegfried smirked.

Mariku smiled and leaned in close to Siegfried's ear.

"No we want our human to be as happy as possible. Deigning him the chance to kill you would just make him angry and we don't want that. So you will remain her and burn until we return."

Mariku backed away and to the entrance to the chamber. I followed. The snake would remain there as long as I concentrate.

I stopped right at the doorway to the chamber and turned to look at the slowly burning demon.

"What is the demons name?"

"Oh," He laughed, "So now you wish to know."

"Tell me now." I growled and the snake grew brighter.

"Very well. You will learn it soon anyway. His name is…"

 **Malik POV**

It felt like I was falling of a tall building or from the top of the palace. I don't know how long I had been falling but I feel as if I should have hit the ground by now. The area around me was completely dark, like a cloudy night sky but more menacing. I knew I was being watched again. I wished Mariku and Marik were with me but I had to remain strong. I knew that they would find me but until them I had to look after myself. The air around me began to slow and landed softly on the ground.

A few seconds after I landed, the torches that had been along the walls lit leading down a tunnel.

"Please walk this way, little fighter. There is someone you need to see." The voice was rough and deep. I shivered.

I held my knives tighter and began to walk to where the torches were leading me. My necklace felt warm against my collar bone, but then again the temperature seemed to be increasing within the tunnel.

"So you're the thing that has been watching me."

"Oh I have been watching you for a long time. I have been waiting for this moment for millennia."

"To bring me here? What were you lonely? I hope you know I'm not that great with comforting others."

The voice laughed and the shadows on the walls rippled.

"No I suppose you wouldn't be. The white haired one was always the calm and rational one. Well at least he used to be."

"The white haired one?"

"You'll meet him soon enough. Continue down the tunnel, if you would."

I did as he asked and continued down the path. The tunnel began to widen into a large antechamber. Within the chamber, were three cages. There were blankets in the cages. I walked closer to the one nearest to me. On the ground in front of it, was a thick leather collar with a red stone on the front. I turned the collar around to look at the back and dropped it in surprise from what I saw. Written on the back was the name Yugi. I backed up from the cage, shaking. I wanted out of these caves now.

"What's wrong? Don't you think it's pretty? I made one for each of my pets, my little _stars._ " He spat the last word. "Your pen is over here. Don't you want to come see it."

The shadows rose up and wrapped around my wrists. I struggled and pulled trying to angle my knives to cut the shadows that were pulling me to "my" cage. My necklace was burning around my neck now. I couldn't get away. The cage I was being pulled to was on the left side. There was one in the center of the room and one on the right. I heard a moan from the one in the right. And I was stunned to see someone in it.

"Oh, so now you see my first pet. I found him five years ago. I felt so bad for him, I just had to take him away from his home. He would have been killed by them, because of his problem. I saved him." The shadows tugged on me harder and I fell onto the ground as he began to drag me a crossed the hard ground. My knives fell from my grip. I was almost in the cage when I bright blue glow emanated from my chest. The shadows around me dissipated and I ran back to my knives. The glow moved out of the necklace to form in from of me to become the shape of a woman. She was dressed in a light blue and purple gown. She had large wings that were like that of a ravens. Her hair was brown.

"So, my treacherous sister, you finally appear before me after all these years. What took you so long?" The voice of darkness rumbled sounding amused.

"I cannot let this continue brother. This ends now. I cannot allow you to return. Malik, get Ryou from the cage and head back down the tunnel. Take the first right, I will meet you at the end. Go!" The woman waved her hand and the door to the cage on the right exploded. I sheaved my knives and ran into the cage. The boy inside was small and pale. He looked malnourished and sickly. I couldn't even start to understand what he must have went through for five years here. I lifted him in my arms and ran out of the room.

The woman was glowing purple.

"No!" I heard the darkness scream and the shadows rushed after us but the light appeared around us and blocked the shadows. I ran as fast as I could down the tunnel and to the right as she requested. I didn't know how far to go. I didn't know where the end was, but soon the tunnel curved into another antechamber that was filled with light. I looked up to see a hole in the rook that was letting in the afternoon light. I looked around the room to make sure it was safe before I laid Ryou onto the ground. I noticed he was wearing a collar like I has seen in front of the cage meant for Yugi. I quickly unbuckled it and threw it to the far end of the chamber in disgust. He had deep purple marks, scars, and cuts that had been made by it over all this time. He moaned and kicked away from me the whole time.

"It's okay Ryou." I told him. "It's going to be okay. Your free now."

His eyes barley opened to look around the room but his eyes never settle on anything. I laid my hand on his cheek to angle his face toward me so he could see he was safe, but when I looked into his eyes, I learned what the voice had meant by his _problem._ His brown eyes were clouded over, he was blind.

I rubbed my thumb over his cheeks trying to gain his attention.

"You're going to be fine now, Ryou. I promise."

He stared straight up at the ceiling, I think to process my words and then closed his eyes. I sat back on the ground and wrapped my arms around my legs. The sunlight was warm and comforting. I looked up at the light, I never want to be in a cave again. I looked back at the tunnel that lead to the cages and I shivered. This could very well be my worst fear now. I hugged my knees closer to my chest and hissed when it hurt my arms. I pulled them back and saw all the bruises that covered them. It looked as if it had been caused by vines. I had scratches on my elbows from when I had been dragged. Great, now when Mariku and Marik find me they'll be even more over protective.

I heard footsteps approaching and I jumped up and pulled out my knives. I heard a light female laugh.

"It's alright now Malik. You're both safe now."

"Who are you? What was that thing?"

The woman smiled kindly. "My name is Mana. I'm a witch. And that thing was my brother. Zorc. He wants to return to him original form. To do that he needs to break my curse."

"And he needed us to do that."

"Yes. I created three souls to trap him as he is now. I thought he would be weak and overtime would fade, but I was wrong. Luckily, I put things in place to protect the lights I created to seal him. I visited your mother when you were a babe to give her that necklace. I needed a way to watch over you, after what happened in your last life."

"You met my mother?"

Mana smiled sadly and laid her hand on my cheek.

"Yes and she was a lovely woman. So strong. Much like your sister had been. I regret that you have lost your family Malik. I wish that things had been different. That we lived in a different time where demons realized that humans are just as strong as they are."

I nodded and held the necklace around my collar.

"What happens now?"

"I cannot destroy Zorc. The universe will not allow me to. Light will always need darkness, just as darkness needs light. There is a war coming. He will return. Siegfried was not his only follower. He will return and the demons and humans will need to fight together to have the strength to win this one."

"But how can we do that? They won't fight together no matter what."

Mana chuckled.

"I think they already have. Your rebel group and that Blond half demons group fought today with the imperial demon army. They won today against the Siegfried's forces. They will fight together again. If you lead them. Atem and Yami have been wanting to stop the oppression of humans for decades now. You will have their support."

"I'm a bonded human. No one will let me lead an army."

Mana smirked. "Oh, I think they will. But for now, I need to leave. Stay in this room. Mariku and Marik will be here soon."

I panicked at the thought of being left alone in the caves. "Please don't leave."

She placed me hand on my shoulder. "You are safe here Malik. Zorc has left the caves. I wouldn't leave you if I didn't think you were safe here."

I nodded.

She looked down at Ryou sadly and leaned down to touch his face. She spoke softly to him. "My poor sweet Ryou. Akefia and Bakura will be here soon too. You will be safe then. You need to trust them though. Trust what they are saying to you." She kissed his forehead and then stood to kiss mine.

"Tell Yugi I said Hi. I will see you again."

She disappeared then in a burst of light and I sat back down next to Ryou. I hoped she was right about my demons coming here soon. I didn't want to be alone in these caves for another minute.

 **Next chapter will be posted September 18** **th** **(And yes it will be posted that day. I promise)**

 **Please review! All criticism is greatly appreciated. It allows me to learn from my mistakes and make a better story.**

 **See you all next Sunday!**


	15. Sunset

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.

 **Summary** : Sequel to All That I Have Left. Malik has always been a fighter. He has been fighting since he was five years old, after the murder of his mother. Conflicts between rebel groups have alerted the fire generals to their location. Now, a real war will begin as demons and humans clash on the battle field. MalikxMarikxMariku (Plagueshipping)

 **Thank you:**

 **Klagana1** for the review. Ask and you shall receive. I will be updating regularly now.

 **GirlFish** for the review. You always seem to inspire me with great ideas. I love reading your reviews. I'm actually looking forward to writing a story for Mai. Thanks for helping me!

 **DDLDarkHeartofWater** for the review. I'm glad you like the twist. Fun fact, when I first thought of the story, I knew I wanted to make Ryou blind. I thought about making him blind in All That I Have Left but decided not to at the last minute. I figured it would work better latter.

 **Malik**

 **Marik**

 **(Mariku)**

 **Warnings: There is smut in this chapter**

 **Chapter 15 – Sunset**

 **Malik POV**

The light in the cave we were in was changing colors. It was becoming more golden. Mana had said that my demons would be here soon. I needed them to get here. I was still shaking. I kept my hand on Ryou's chest to make sure he was still breathing. I needed to relax but I knew I wouldn't until Marik and Mariku got here.

I had moved Ryou and me to the back wall farthest from the tunnel that we both escaped from. His head was positioned in my lap. I worried about how he would react to the outside world. What would being imprisoned for five years, with that thing, done to him?

I heard feet running down the tunnel to our left, the one opposite from the one we escaped from. Light burst in from the tunnel that was brighter than the sunlight. My demons had arrived. They ran into the room. Mariku saw me first and crouched down in front of me. He ran his hands down my body checking for injuries.

"Malik, what happened? Are you alright?"

Marik was bent down next to me looking at Ryou. He pulled him off my lap and laid him back onto the ground.

"I'm fine. A little scratched up but okay. There was a demon down there," I pointed down the bad tunnel, "His name was Zorc. He was completely made of darkness."

Mariku laid his hand on my cheek. "We know. We captured Siegfried. He's upstairs. We left him for you."

"Good," I smiled tiredly, "We need to take him with us."

Mariku looked down at Ryou and blinked in surprise.

Marik very carefully lifted Ryou up. "Yes we do need to take him."

"Bakura and Akefia are not going to react well. We will need to be careful." Mariku said.

Mariku lifted me up and we began the walk out of the caves. I was confused. Bakura and Akefia were the dangerously insane white haired demons. We can't take Ryou to them.

"They might hurt him. He can't go to them. He's blind and he's been here for five years. He doesn't need to be taken back to more crazy demons. I can take care of him."

"Bakura and Akefia would kill themselves before they hurt him. They will take care of him. Remember when we told you about how they had lost their bonded human when you died. Ryou was that human. They will protect him and make sure he heals. He will be completely safe." Mariku reassured me. "But when they see him, they won't want anyone else near him. They will probably attack Marik for holding him."

I wasn't completely reassured but I trusted them. The trip back to the first chamber to a while. Ryou still had yet to wake, but he did move occasionally. The more light that hit his skin, the more sickly he began to look.

We finally made it back to the first chamber we entered and I pleased to see Siegfried still being held by a fire snake. I squeezed Mariku's arm and he set me on the ground. I walked up to the caged demon and smiled. The snakes head moved toward me and nuzzled my side. It didn't burn me but it felt warm.

"Well, Siegfried. You plan failed. And now, we will return to the palace where you will die. What do you have to say now?"

Siegfried snarled at me, showing his fangs.

Mariku and Marik walked up behind me.

"Why take him back to the palace Malik? Why not just kill him now?" Marik asked.

"When I meet Zorc, he had three cages. Ryou was in one, another was meant for me. There was also one for Yugi. Atem and Yami deserve hear the story about what happened for themselves so they can keep Yugi safe. Bakura and Akefia should hear about what Ryou went through if they want to help him heal. As much I want revenge, I can't let it cloud my judgement. If Zorc is going to return, we need to know as much about him as he knows about us. And once Siegfried has told us everything he knows, I will kill him."

A hand was laid on my shoulder.

"Even though you said you don't want to lead the Eastern rebels, you speak like a true leader. You would be a great leader."

I nodded. I was not sure that I could lead them. I can't be apart from Mariku and Marik, and they would want to be at the palace after all of this. The rebels would be better off with Seto leading them, or even Joey.

"Let's leave."

I walked out on my own with Mariku and Marik following me. Mariku didn't pick me up but I was glad because I wanted to walk on my own for now. Mariku waved his hand and the snake pulled Siegfried after them. The tunnel was entirely lit up. The darkness from before was totally gone. We came to the entrance and I breathed in deeply. I was finally free of the caves. I didn't look back; I was never going back in a cave again.

 **(We don't want you to either)**

Mariku picked me up again as we made our way back down the mountain. The battle here must have stopped a while ago. Tents had already been set up and the sun was setting. I could see our tent surrounded by other gray tents. The Rebels had set their tents away from the demons but they were walking around and talking with the demons in the area. I could see Seto and Joey sitting around the fire with Mai. I saw Bakura and Akefia eating around a fire. The demons around them distanced themselves. They were angrily ripping through their food when their eyes trained on us. They jumped up, their meal completely forgotten, and rushed to us growling.

Mariku took me away from Marik, who laid Ryou on the ground and backed away. Bakura tackled him to the ground, eyes glowing and fangs positioned at Marik's neck. Akefia fell down next to Ryou and ran his knuckles over his cheeks. He barely touched him, as if he were afraid to hurt him. He made soft noises, almost cooing like, like he was trying to wake him. Marik was still struggling with Bakura.

"I didn't hurt him and you know it, you idiot. We found him in the caves. He needs you now so stop trying to kill me and help him."

Bakura growled at him one last time before walking slowly to Ryou. Akefia had picked Ryou up and placed him in his lap. He was still trying to wake him. Ryou moved a little but still remained unconscious. The picked him up all the way to take him into their tent. Bakura growled at Marik one last time before following.

Marik growled back, flashing his fangs, then waved his hands

"He's safe now."

"Yeah… safe. Are you sure we didn't just condemn him?"

Mariku chuckled. "Yes I'm sure. Now let's take Siegfried to some of our men, and then we can go somewhere to clean up."

Mariku carried me to our campsite where some of the demons under my demon's command were waiting. We gave Siegfired to them and they chained him to the fire there. The snake dissipated when its job was done. Marik went into our tent to grab some spare clothes. Mariku set me down so I could remove my weapons. When I was done, he went to pick me up again but Marik beat him.

"You've carried him enough. It's my turn. Let's go Malik-pretty, there is a river nearby."

Mariku followed with a disgruntled look, carrying our spare clothes. Where we going to bathe together? I blushed. I thought they were handsome when I first met them and after all this time, I began to care for them. I didn't know if it was love yet, but I knew I couldn't live without them. I didn't know if I was ready for them to see me naked or for me to see them.

"Why are you so tense Malik?" Marik asked.

Mariku chuckled next to me and ran a hand through my hair.

"We won't do anything unless you say you are ready."

"I thought you could only hear the thoughts I send to you."

"We can usually but you think loudly." Marik told me with a smirk.

I was just about to retort but I was dropped into the cool water of the lake. I swam back to the surface. Marik was laughing at me and Mariku was just shaking his head.

"You look like an angry wet kitten." Marik laughed harder and Mariku pushed him into the water where I tackled him to push him down.

"You two couldn't have taken off your clothes before getting them wet."

"It's not like I had a choice!" I yelled at Mariku while struggling with Marik. He grabbed my legs from underneath me and flipped me into the water.

"I won!" Marik yelled, hands in the air.

I swam away and pulled my wet shirt over my head and laid it on the bank. I removed my pants too and left them with my shirt. I left my necklace on. I turned around to find Marik and Mariku in the water. They weren't wearing any clothes. Their chests were well defined and their hips were narrow. Mariku was wider that Mairk. Marik saw me looking and swam over to me.

"Come on Malik."

"I think I'd rather swim on my own. I don't want to be attacked again."

Malik swam around me and hooked his arms around my chest to pull me out into the water.

"If I were to attack you again, I will make sure it's in a way you will enjoy." He said kissing and nibbling on my neck. His fangs sent pinpricks of pleasure down my spine. I shivered.

 **Yeah you know what starts here. Don't like, Don't read. Scroll until the next bold line of text.**

Marik pushed us out to deeper water with Mariku who swam in front of me. Marik continued to run his fangs along my neck. It was lucky that they could still touch the bottom of the river bed or else I would probably drown. I doubt my body would be even able to swim right now.

Mariku lifted my chin so the back of my head was lying on Marik's shoulder. Mariku forcefully kissed me, and ran his hands down my sides.

"I thought you said we came here to get clean." I said breathless.

Mariku moved his head lower to nip at my collar bone. "We weren't dirty enough first."

"Says who? I was dragged along the floor of a cave." My breath hitched when Marik licked a spot on the base of my neck.

"Quiet now Kitten. Put your claws away." Mariku said kissing me again.

My body felt like it was getting hotter and hotter. They smirked at me every time my breath hitched. I can play this game too. I moved my hands to Mariku's sides and kissed at his neck. I bit at the base of his throat until he too moaned. I smiled triumphantly. I turned in Marik's arms until I faced him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. I opened my mouth and allowed his tongue to explore. Both of us began to moan into the others mouth. I moved one of my hands down to his hip bone to pull him tighter to me. I ground my hips into his. Electricity shot down my spine. I groan and I lost the ability to hold onto Marik. I fell into the water. Mariku caught me.

"Perhaps we should mover this to land."

He pulled me out of the water and onto a large flat rock that sat in the center of the water. He laid me flat on the rock. Almost instantly, Marik was laying on top of me. The sunlight was filtering through the trees about us. If anyone came looking for us, they were going to get a show. Marik rolled us over until I was on top with my knees on either side of his hips. Marik wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me mouth back to his. He thrust his hips up to mine and I arched my back in a groan. I looked down at his body. He had scars but he also had lines of hard muscle. Where had Mariku gone? I felt a hand on my lower back. Marik pulled my head back down to his. The hand on my back kept moving downward and slid down my bottom. I pushed back against his hand desperate for something to happen. I needed something to happen. Marik's cock continued to rub and hit mine and my moans grew louder.

Mariku's hand dipped into my crack and found my entrance. His fingers were warm and slick. He must have brought oil or something with him. He had one finger in and began to careful move it around. I wasn't a virgin so this wasn't as uncomfortable as it had been my first time. He soon added a second finger and began to scissor and finger me deeper. I panted and laid my head into the crook of Marik's neck.

"Your beautiful, Malik. Our pretty fighter." Marik told me as he ran his fingers through my hair.

They were both so warm. It was like lying next to a fire place in a cold room, or snuggled in quilts on a cold day. Mariku dug his fingers deeper and found a spot that sent lightning up my spine. I screamed into Marik's neck.

"Please…" I groaned.

Marik and Mariku looked each other in the eye and Mariku nodded. Mariku pulled me up so I was above Marik and his cock was positioned under me.

"Are you ready?" Mariku said nibbling on my ear.

"Yes…please"

He lowered me down onto Marik and we both groaned. Marik's head arched back onto the rock. Once he was completely inside me, Mariku let me go and I fell back onto Marik.

"God Malik." He pulled me in for a kiss again. I didn't want a kiss though. I wanted him to move but I soon realized me was doing this to distract me. I felt pressure increase on my entrance. Mariku was pushing into me and the pressure was increasing and the amount of pain was rising. My head went back to Marik's neck and his hand massaged the back of my neck.

"It's going to be okay. It will feel so good soon."

Mariku held onto my hips as he pushed himself in. Once he was completely in, the three of us were panting. They waited until I was ready. The pain began to decrease and I moved my hips to test and only found a twinge of pain.

"Malik?" Mariku asked

I nodded. "Just… go slow."

Marik turned his head to the side and kissed my cheek. They began to moved slowly, one always pulling out when the other pushes back in. I didn't know how to move my hips, so I just jerked my hips in an uneven movement. Their pace began to quicken and their thrusts were harder. My groans were becoming louder, bordering on a scream. Marik reached under me and stroked my cock. I did begin to scream at this point.

"Come for us Malik." Marik said breathlessly.

Mariku laid kisses onto my back

"Let go, Malik."

"Ah!" I screamed as I came and collapsed into Malik. My head right above his heart, that was beating wildly. I felt is as they both came. Mariku bit down onto the left side of my neck as Marik bit the right.

 **It's over now. You can safely read from her on.**

It took us some time to calm down. Mariku rolled to the side but held onto Marik's hand. I felt exhausted. I couldn't even move off Marik. Marik ran his hand through my hair.

"We told you we loved you before and we still do Malik. Were never going to let you go." Mariku told me. He rolled onto his side to stare into my eyes.

I nodded, too tired to speak.

Mariku kissed me again and I sighed. Marik kissed me when he was done and ran his hands along my back.

"We really do need to clean up now." Marik chuckled.

Mariku lifted me off of Marik at glided back into the water. He held me to his chest as he gently cleaned my body. Marik carefully brushed the water through my hair. I never felt this loved before. Not since my mother died. She always told me I could grow up to be anything I wanted to be. After she died, I lost focus of my dreams and became what people needed me to be. A fighter. A leader. A perfect son. Now I could finally do what my mother told, I could be what I wanted. And I couldn't be afraid of it.

"I love both of you. I want to be the person that loves you and fights with you. I want to be happy." I whispered to them. The sunlight hit the water so it looked like we were in a pool of light.

They both smiled warmly at me. "We love you and want that too. We never want you to change for us Malik."

They held me tightly. My stomach growled between us ruining the moment. I laughed. Mariku nuzzled me neck.

"Let's get back to the camp."

They took me out of the water and dressed me in clean clothes before walking back to the camp. When we got to our tent, I stayed awake just long enough to eat some of the meat, but then I fell asleep with Mariku and Marik curled tightly around me. I smiled in my sleep. That night I dreamed of my family. We were alone in the oasis. My mother and father walked up to me and held me close and my sister held my hand.

My mother whispered into my ear. "We are so proud of you Malik."

Ishizu squeezed my hand. "I love you, brother."

My father talked to my last. "If you choose to be, you will be a great leader. If you don't, you will be a great warrior. I love you, my son. I wished I had told you that more often."

 **Next chapter will be posted September 25** **th**

 **The next chapter will be the last for this part of the story. There will be a one week break between the end of this one and the beginning of the last one. I will tell everyone the name of Ryou's story next chapter. It will be the last one in this series.**

 **Please review! All criticism is greatly appreciated. It allows me to learn from my mistakes and make a better story.**

 **See you all next Sunday!**


	16. A New Day

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.

 **Summary** : Sequel to All That I Have Left. Malik has always been a fighter. He has been fighting since he was five years old, after the murder of his mother. Conflicts between rebel groups have alerted the fire generals to their location. Now, a real war will begin as demons and humans clash on the battle field. MalikxMarikxMariku (Plagueshipping)

 **Thank you:**

 **GirlFish** for the review. They might not have relief right away. I like the idea that Mai's parents are weapon makers. The next story you will see more of Atem, Yami, and Yugi. Along with Mariku, Marik, and Malik. Since there is a war coming, everyone is going to need to work together. Maybe I need to do a short story on Zorc and Mana. Go more into their back story. Please tell me if you think that would be worth it.

 **Klagana1** for the review. I hope you like the last chapter!

 **DDLDarkHeartofWater** for the review. I'm glad you have enjoyed the story!

 **Guest** for the review. My exam went well. I think I did good on it but you never really know.

 **This chapter is shorter than I normally write. I didn't have much time to edit this one so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes that I missed. Hope you see you all when I start the last part of this story.**

 **Malik**

 **Marik**

 **(Mariku)**

 **Chapter 16- A New Day**

 **Malik POV**

I woke up before my demons this morning. They were curled up around me. Marik's head was under my chin and Mariku had his face pressed into the back of my neck. I could feel the warmth of the air and the sunlight coming in from the sides of the tent. I could hear people moving and talking quietly outside. I wondered how Ryou was doing this morning. I carefully untangled myself from Mariku and Marik. Marik woke up for a minute and grabbed my arm, stopping me.

"It's okay. I'm going to see Joey and Seto. And see if I can see Ryou." I placed my hand over his. He nodded warily and let me go. He curled into Mariku's arms. Mariku opened his eyes.

"Be careful talking to Bakura and Akefia. Their main goal will be to protect Ryou. Don't go too close to him. Yell if you need us." He held Marik tightly in his arms and Marik purred contently.

I nodded, pulled on my boots and left the tent. The sun had risen a few hours ago so most of the due from the ground had already evaporated. I began walking to where the humans had set up their tents. As I got closer, I could clearly make out Joey's voice, carrying loudly over the area. I smiled, some things that never change. When I found them, they were sitting around a dead fire pit. Seto saw me walking up first and smiled.

"Hello, Malik. You look well."

"Thanks, Seto. Hey Joey."

Joey ran up to hug me. I hugged him tightly.

"Are you okay Joey? No injuries?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Like those demons would be able to get me. Are you okay? You looked pretty shaken when you returned from the mountain last night. Who was the white haired person with you?"

I walked over to the fire pit before I answered his questions. Joey sat down next to me with Seto a crossed from us.

"There was a demon who was made of darkness in the mountain. He is the one who had my family killed to get me. Ryou, the human you saw with me, had been trapped in the mountain for 5 years. He wanted to keep me there. But the demon left the mountain. He will be back though."

"Where is the human now?" Seto asked.

"We gave him to Bakura and Akefia. The generals of the imperial army."

Seto nodded. Joey looked skeptical.

"Are you sure he'd be safe with them?" Joey asked.

"Mariku and Marik assured me that he would be. I'm going to visit him when were done here." I took a deep breath. "There is something I need to ask you. I can't lead the rebels. I will be staying with my demons. I want demons and humans to work together. I will help the rebels from the palace. I need someone to lead the Eastern rebels. Will one of you?"

Joey looked down. "I can't take your fathers job, Malik. I agree we need to work together. We were stronger together. But I can't lead the rebels."

I nodded and looked at Seto.

"Are you sure about this, Malik? This is what you want to do?"

"Yes."

"Then I will lead."

"Good. I would ask that you make an alliance with the Western Rebels and their leader Mai. We need everyone to work together. I will help you when I can. I want to see if I can help make a treaty between the demons on imperial land and the human rebels."

Seto nodded. "I will see about meeting with her today before the westerns leave."

"Thank you, Seto." I stood and brushed off my pants. "I am going to check on Ryou now. I will see you both again before we leave."

Joey nodded and hugged me. "Bye, Malik."

I smiled and began walking back to where the demon tents had been set up for the army. When I got close to their tent, I saw Bakura in front of a fire spooning broth into a bowl. His face held incredible sadness. They both found Ryou again but he wasn't the same as he had been before. He was broken. When I got close, Bakura's head snapped up and growled lowly.

I raised my hands and approached him slowly. "I'm not going to hurt him. I just want to know how he is doing."

Bakura stayed tense as I approached, eyes never leaving mine. I stopped when I made it to the opposite side of the fire.

"Can I see him?"

Bkura remained silent but his eyes went back to the tent. The flaps of the tent moved and Akefia stepped out. He didn't look surprised to see me. He took the bowl of broth from Bakura.

"Let him enter." His voice was so low and gravely that I barely understood him. Bakura nodded and held the flaps of the tent open for me as I walked in. Ryou was laying in the middle of the pallet, covered in blankets. He looked cleaner that last night. For some reason being cleaner made him look even more pale and malnourished. I walked closer to his side and stood at the left side of the bed.

"Has he woken up yet?"

Akefia went to his right side and sat down on the bed. Bakura sat down by his feet.

"No. He moves occasionaly. He mumbles. But will not wake." Bakura said. Akefia laid a hand on Ryou's cheek, rubbing under his eye gently.

Akefia look up at me. "How long had he been blind?"

"Zorc said that he had always been blind. He took him away from whoever he was with because he claimed that they would have killed him. He didn't care about Ryou other than to keep him as a pet in a cage until he could use him to break the curse. Would his family really had killed him?"

Bakura ran his hand down Ryou's leg. "If he was a slave, his masters would have killed him because of his lack of eyesight. Even if he had been free, we have no idea what his family was like or what they would have done. He will be safe now. We will never allow him to be abused that way again."

I nodded. "Will you tell me when he wakes up?"

"We will. We are taking him back to the palace at midday."

I walked back to the entrance to the tent. "Thank you for taking care of him. I was nervous to give him to you at first, but now that I see he is safe with you. I now have to thank you."

They both stayed silent as I left the tent. I walked back to my tent where I saw Marik waiting, with his arms crossed.

"What?" I asked smiling.

"You forgot to eat this morning before you left."

"I wasn't hungry."

"I wasn't hungry when I was getting ready to leave."

Marik walked forward and grabbed onto my arm pulling me to our tent. "Well you're going to eat now while we ready to leave."

I laughed as he pulled me into the tent and Mariku caught me. He made me sat down on the ground and gave me a plate of fruit and meat. I began eating.

"The meat is cold." I told them.

Mariku poked the side of my head. "It would have been warm if you had asked to eat before you left."

"You two didn't even tell me you had food."

"Not our fault." Marik said before walking back out of the tent.

"We are going to tell our men to begin packing. I take it you went to see Ryou. Is he doing well?"

"He hasn't woken yet. He still looks sick." I told them.

"He will be better soon." Marik told me and ran his hands through my hair.

During the next hour, I watched and waited as out camp was packed. I sat down by the edge to the river. The sunlight was reflecting a crossed the water just like it had done the night before. I felt content as I leaned back against the back of the river bank. Seto and Joey had left, but had stopped to see me before they left as they had said they would. Seto told me that his talk with Mai had gone well and they agreed that an alliance was needed. The Eastern rebels had agreed to their leadership. I was relieved that they had accepted his leadership.

Now I had an even harder job. I needed to convince that demons of the capital that humans need to be treated equally and fairly. That we are just as strong as demons are. Zorc is going to return and we need to be ready for him.

"Malik! We're ready to go."

"I'm coming." I yelled back to Mariku.

I pulled myself up from the bank and walked to where Marik and Mariku were waiting with horses. There were only two of them.

"So who am I riding with." I asked.

"You're with me, Malik-pretty."

I smiled and walked up to him. He lifted me onto the horse and then climbed on behind me. His arms were tight around me and his breath was warm on my neck. I looked behind me to see Siegfried caged and chained. I smiled when he snarled at me.

The ride to the prison was long. I watched Ryou most of the time, who was riding sideways in the saddle with Akefia. He looked slightly better this morning. He skin looked less pale. I slept through most of the way back to the palace but I woke up when we made it to the palace gates. When they opened I saw Atem, Yami, and Yugi waiting for us.

Mariku, Marik, and me dismounted from our horses and walked up to them.

"My King, Queen, and Yugi. We have some information that needs to be discussed before the council."

Atem nodded. "The council will convene in one hour." Atem looked behind us to see Bakura and Akefia carrying Ryou into the palace. "It appears that there is a lot we need to discuss. We need to go see Bakura and Akefia. Be ready for the council meeting and please, for once, don't be late to this one."

Marik chuckled and we walked into the palace to our room. It seemed so long ago that I had be kidnapped and taken to the palace. And now I was actually looking forward to going to our room. When we got to our room, we took a shower together. After I laid on the couch while, Marik brushed and dried my hair. After what we went through, this is what I needed after everything that happened. I didn't know what would happen at the council meeting, but I knew that things would be changing. If I did things right, times will be changing within the next few hours or by the end of the day.

 **Don't worry you will get to hear about what happens in that council meeting. Ryou's story will be Titled "All That I Once Was" and the first chapter will be out October 9** **th** **. The first chapter will start in the caves right before Malik got there.**

 **Please review! All criticism is greatly appreciated. It allows me to learn from my mistakes and make a better story.**

 **See you all next Sunday!**


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